Two can play this game… that is the message that is coming from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis right now and it is being sent directly to California Governor Gavin Newsom.
After Newsom did his little tour hammering Governor DeSantis, DeSantis is now returning the favor.
DeSantis traveled to California on Sunday to deliver a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, and he did not pull any punches, reports The Hill.
Take That
DeSantis hit Newsom right out of the gate, stating, "I knew you guys got a lot of problems out here, but your governor is very concerned about what we're doing in Florida, so I figured I had to come by."
He then talked about Reagan and how he understood how dangerous too much government could be.
Then DeSantis stated, "And I think if you look over the last four or five years, and you look at the performances of individual states, and you compare Florida versus California, New York, Illinois, some of those other states, we have had a great experiment, a great test in governing philosophies.
"Because, of course, you know, we approach things much differently in Florida than you guys have out here, much differently in Florida than they've done in New York and in Illinois."
"And if you look over the last four years, we've witnessed a great American exodus from states governed by leftist politicians imposing leftist ideology and delivering poor results, and you've seen massive gains in states like Florida, who are governing according to the tried and true principles that President Reagan held dear.
"From the beginning of this state's history, all the way until the last four or five years, people beat a path to California. You didn't beat a path away from California. And yet now, you see the state hemorrhaging population," reports Fox News.
That one had to sting, but he hit the nail on the head, as California, for the first time in forever, went backward in population. It also went backward in tourism dollars, with DeSantis stating that the state saw a 22 percent decline in tourism from 2019 to 2021.
There were more than 1,300 people at the event, with no seat left unfilled. Donald Trump could not make that claim during his CPAC speech on Saturday, as he was lucky if the room was 70 or 80 percent of the way filled.
This is going to make for one heck of a showdown during this upcoming cycle.
