‘Pathetic man’: The California-Florida rivalry just exploded

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The feud between Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis is getting nastier — and that’s how both of them want it.

The two governors have spent more than a year sparring over book bans, abortion, guns and more. Then yesterday, the California Democrat suggested DeSantis could face state criminal charges after more than a dozen asylum seekers were flown to Sacramento and left at a Catholic church. The flight was similar to one the DeSantis administration facilitated last fall carrying almost 50 mostly Venezuelan migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard that caused a national furor and re-ignited the long-running debate over immigration.

While Newsom has made a habit of publicly attacking his red-state rival, the threat of criminal charges thrust the standoff into even more rhetorically combustible territory now that DeSantis is officially a candidate for the GOP’s 2024 nomination. The conflict between the two men escalated even further after a second flight touched down in Sacramento Monday carrying migrants that California authorities said appeared to have Florida documentation.

In a Monday tweet, Newsom called DeSantis a “small, pathetic man” and asked “kidnapping charges?” while citing California criminal code that states anyone who transports someone “by force or fraud” is guilty of kidnapping.

“I know you guys have a lot of problems out here, but your governor is very concerned about what we’re doing in Florida, so I figured I’d have to come by,” DeSantis told people at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.

Christian Ziegler, chair of Florida’s Republican Party, on Monday highlighted the influx of people moving to Florida from California, asking “if Gov Newsom is calling Gov DeSantis ‘pathetic’, how should we refer to the Governor of California, who has seen tens of thousands of his own citizens literally flee his failed leadership in order to end up in DeSantis-led Florida?”

DeSantis is set to return to California for a fundraising swing later this month, including a planned stop in Sacramento. Polls show he has slid behind former President Donald Trump as Republicans vie for California’s rich trove of presidential delegates.

Newsom’s office did not explain on Monday why the latest flight of asylum seekers would be grounds for state charges, referring questions to California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office. The attorney general said in a Sunday statement that he was “evaluating potential criminal or civil action against those who transported or arranged for the transport of these vulnerable immigrants” and condemned “state-sanctioned kidnapping.”

Bonta’s office said the first group of migrants arrived with documentation recording their participation in Florida’s “voluntary transportation program” conducted by Vertol Systems Company, Inc., the contractor that conducted the prior flights. Bonta told the New York Times he believed the arrangement “wasn’t fully consensual,” which could be grounds for prosecution.

Dan Newman, a political adviser to the governor, said Newsom viewed the flights as “inhumane and potentially illegal.”

It also bolsters Newsom’s standing as a combative partisan who is eager to challenge Republicans. The governor regularly describes this conflict as an existential fight over democracy, and he traveled to DeSantis’ state in April to meet with students at New College, a small liberal arts college in Sarasota that DeSantis has transformed into a conservative institution — and then fundraised off of his visit.

Democratic political consultant Garry South said in an interview that Newsom’s threat of prosecution was unlikely to hurt Newsom in deep-blue California. But he argued Newsom had to act to deter more flights.

“This was a stunt that plays well in their [Republicans’] home states, I guess,” South said. “But I just don’t think from a human decency standpoint that this can be allowed to become standard operating procedure.”

Gary Fineout, Lara Korte and Blake Jones contributed to this report.