Gov. Gavin Newsom is flexing his pick-me muscles after challenging Gov. Ron DeSantis to a debate -- so much so, it's sad ... at least according to a dude famous for calling elections.
Political analyst and FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver -- who once correctly predicted the presidential outcomes in nearly all 50 states in the '08/'12 elections -- had some harsh words for Newsom Friday ... this after GN threw down the proverbial gauntlet against DeSantis.
Hey @GovRonDeSantis, clearly you're struggling, distracted, and busy playing politics with people’s lives. Since you have only one overriding need -- attention --let's take this up & debate. I’ll bring my hair gel. You bring your hairspray. Name the time before Election Day. @CNN https://t.co/vTJHQxfArW
After Dan Rather floated the idea -- Newsom piggybacked ... "Hey @GovRonDeSantis, clearly you're struggling, distracted, and busy playing politics with people’s lives. Since you have only one overriding need -- attention --let's take this up & debate. I’ll bring my hair gel. You bring your hairspray. Name the time before Election Day. @CNN."
The hair gel thing is in response to a crack RDS made about Newsom asking the DOJ to investigate the Martha's Vineyard stunt (more on that later) ... the Gov. clearly registered it.
Hard to think of more of a pot-calling-the-kettle-black situation than Gavin Newsom calling someone else attention-starved. Like DeSantis, he's trying to run a 2024 presidental campaign while dozens of his colleagues are in tight midterm races. https://t.co/1ZGOv2RNCK
Enter Silver ... whose political hot takes get noticed, and this one was no exception. He blasted Newsom, writing -- "Hard to think of more of a pot-calling-the-kettle-black situation than Gavin Newsom calling someone else attention-starved. Like DeSantis, he's trying to run a 2024 (presidential) campaign while dozens of his colleagues are in tight midterm races."
The dude's getting dragged for seemingly coming out in defense of DeSantis/on the attack against Newsom -- but on the issue of trying to soak in the spotlight and frame himself as a natural foil to the Florida Gov. ... Silver is not really wrong about Newsom here.
Just 50 illegal immigrants entered Martha's Vineyard, and within 48 hours the wealthy liberal residents rounded them up and shipped them off to a military base.pic.twitter.com/HZKMBQPZt3
As we've seen over the past few months, Newsom has gone out of his way to troll DeSantis ... and has often name-dropped him in an effort to slam his policies in his state. Some political pundits say Newsom's ramping up for a presidential run -- and apparently thinks DeSantis will too, wanting to set the narrative early in a would-be matchup in 2024.
Of course, this latest dustup between them stems from a wild episode this week -- when Govs. DeSantis and Abbott dumped planes and busloads of Venezuelan migrants at both Martha's Vineyard and VP Kamala Harris' D.C. residence ... just to make a political point.
TWO BUSLOADS OF MIGRANTS FROM TEXAS DROPPED OFF IN FRONT OF VP HARRIS'S RESIDENCE IN WASH DC pic.twitter.com/dUlmClCAxg
Those moves are now being labeled as outright kidnapping and human trafficking -- or at the very least ... using real people as pawns to score cheap headlines and outrage points.
DeSantis hasn't responded to Newsom's call to war just yet -- but the way things are going ... these two might just need to have it out once and for all on the biggest of stages.
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