Governor Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., slammed Governor Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., while speaking at the 2022 Texas Tribune Festival on Saturday.
"Look, its clear that DeSantis broke the law," Newsom suggested while speaking with MSNBC host Alex Wagner. "The question is, which law did he break? Did he break the laws of his own state? Did he break federal law?"
Newsom criticized DeSantis for shipping migrants to Martha’s Vineyard earlier this month. DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbot have both been transporting immigrants to liberal regions, such as Washington D.C. and Martha's Vineyard, a tactic that aims to force Biden and Democratic Party leaders to come to terms with crisis on America's southern border.
Adding to his criticism, Newsom condemned DeSantis morally saying he showed a "lack of character."
"The one thing that he did is he broke with precedent, any precedent of decency and honor, his lack of character on display," he said. "He comes into another state-your state, to try to find pawns in a political game, rounds them up, sends them to an island, and then fundraises off it. What does that say about his character, and the character of the Republican Party that celebrated that act of cruelty and dehumanization?"
Gavin suggested the incident is not just an indictment of Republican governors but also of GOP voters.
"I called it out because I find it offensive and disgraceful, and I find it increasingly normalized now within the Republican Party," Newsom said. "It’s certainly well established here with Greg Abbott, who was apparently getting more attention on this topic than Ron DeSantis, and he wanted in, and I mean that, and that’s what's happened to the Republican Party in this country."
Newsom and Democrats in his state have often denounced and targeted Republicans and Republican-led states for their policies and stances. California passed a law in 2017 that banned state-funded travel to a number of states, including Texas. The law was in response to what the California legislature of states allowing "discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people."
Newsom's trip to Texas raises similar questions to when the governor visited Montana, another state on California's travel ban list.
