Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom had their own objectives and advantages going into Thursday night’s highly anticipated debate.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom had their own objectives and advantages going into Thursday night’s highly anticipated debate.
For DeSantis, this forum was a home game.
Moderator Sean Hannity may have some amount of chemistry with Newsom, but he is first and foremost a conservative, and he had a vested interest in presiding over an event in which DeSantis prevailed.
As the only presidential candidate on the stage, DeSantis’ somewhat urgent aim was to jump-start his stagnant campaign.
Newsom, on the other hand, was playing with house money.
His goal was to turn himself into a national figure and the presumptive future face of the Democratic Party.
And because he’s not a candidate for anything, he had the privilege of trying to make the leap risk-free.
At the end of the contentious hour, Both men had made progress toward their respective goals, but only one — DeSantis — could call it a triumph.
His progressive counterpart put up a fight, thanks to his gift of gab.
