2. The Border and Immigration

The two governors had sharply contrasting views on the border. Newsom accused DeSantis of being heartless toward illegal immigrants and DeSantis said that the policies of Newsom and fellow Democrats were creating dangerous lawlessness in America.

Newsom defended the Biden administration’s record on the border, which has seen record numbers of illegal immigrants cross in every year of Joe Biden’s presidency.

“The Biden administration put out a comprehensive plan on day one when he got sworn into office three years ago and the Republican Party didn’t touch it, they didn’t move on it,” Newsom said.

He continued to say that there is nobody he would trust less on the issue of immigration.

“When he was in Congress, he supported amnesty,” Newsom said of DeSantis.

He then criticized DeSantis for sending a group of illegal immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard, a wealthy area and popular vacation spot in Massachusetts known to be in favor of amnesty for illegals, as long as illegals go somewhere else.

DeSantis said that Newsom was spreading a “flurry of lies.” He pointed to the Biden administration’s reassurance that the border is “secure” and said “they are lying to you, we know that’s not true. A secure border is not where you allow anyone from anywhere to just walk into your country and then support them with taxpayer money.”

The Florida governor pointed out that “California is a sanctuary state” and said that “they thumb their nose at federal immigration law.”

DeSantis explained that this status has consequences. He brought up a story of Los Angeles refusing to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the case of an illegal immigrant with multiple arrests.

“He ends up murdering the mother of a three-year-old little girl,” he said. “Those policies are deadly, they do not work.”

He also said that Matha’s Vineyard is a sanctuary jurisdiction.

“These liberal elites, they like to impose those burdens on you, they don’t want to have to face the consequences,” DeSantis said.