‘What Kind of Human Being Does That?’ Newsom Warns DeSantis, ‘We Mean Business’ on Potential Kidnapping Charges
NBC News’s Jacob Soboroff sat down with California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) for an interview set to air Thursday morning on Today. In the interview, Newsom doubled down on his strongly-worded criticism of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) and his vow to investigate and potentially prosecute anyone involved in the deceitful shipping of migrants to his state.
“These flights of asylum seekers that are being brought to Sacramento. There’s been two of them, now. They’ve been described as state-sanctioned kidnaping by the attorney general of the state of California,” Soboroff began.
“You tweeted directly at the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, I want to get this right. You called him a ‘small, pathetic man’ and asked, quote, ‘kidnaping charges?’ Is that is that what you believe happened, Governor Newsom? Florida kidnapped migrants and brought them to California?” he asked.
Newsom quickly replied, “I think I’ve been generous, ‘small and pathetic.’ Very generous. He’s just weakness masquerading as strength.”
“Yeah, He’s flailing. Desperate for attention. Let’s just level set here. Let’s level set. Here’s a governor from the state of Florida that is using taxpayer money and he had to go to another state to find people under false pretense. I don’t think this. I know this. I talked to the migrants. [He] lied to them, took them into another state by bus, and then took them on a chartered flight to Sacramento, lying to them that they had help on the other side, knocked on the door and they left these migrants right there on the steps. What kind of human being does that?” Newsom added, pulling no punches.
“Ron DeSantis is going to be landing in this city later this month to hold a fundraiser for his presidential campaign. Should he be worried that law enforcement officials in this state are going to arrest him when he walks off the plane?” Soboroff followed up.
“Now we’re getting to hyperbole. The bottom line is…” Newsom shot back as Soboroff interjected.
“Well, just respectfully, I mean, I don’t think it’s hyperbole. You’re the one raising the issue of criminality potentially,” Soboroff clarified.
“Potentially. Yeah. And we have to do the investigation,” Newsom replied, adding:
So, one, it’s ready, aim, fire. Not ready, fire, aim. That’s his approach. Our approach is to seek first to collect all the facts, but on the basis of facts of evidence that were provided. And by the way, I didn’t take this in the third-party frame.
I was there with these folks directly and listened to how they I mean, you know, if human beings are used as pawns for a guy’s political advancement, that’s pretty sad and pathetic. And so I take this very seriously.
And as I said, we are not Martha’s Vineyard. I love Martha. We’re not. This is California, fourth or fifth largest economy on planet Earth. We mean business. And so Ron DeSantis should know that. And everyone that’s been part of this. They may have more direct accountability and culpability, should know we mean business. And we’re not backing away from getting the facts and holding those accountable if they broke the laws of the state of California.
Watch the clip above via Today.
