Gavin Newsom Says GOP Debate Was ‘Maybe a Vice Presidential Debate’ At Best: ‘These Guys Are Getting Lapped’ by Trump

California Governor Gavin Newsom described the second Republican primary debate on Wednesday as “maybe a vice presidential debate” at best and argued the candidates were being “lapped” by former President Donald Trump, who was not in attendance.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the debate, Newsom said, “I think it will be clear that Trump comes out the dominant force after this debate. I mean, this is the XFL, this is JV.”

He continued:

Honestly, I mean, this is maybe, maybe, a vice presidential debate. These guys are getting lapped by Donald Trump. It’s not even close, it’s not even interesting, and I think what’s most interesting to me is, do they recognize that? Or are they actually gonna show up and run against the guy that’s in the way of their prospects to be the nominee? It’s a zero sum game, it’s a binary choice at the end of the day. It’s not a rank choice voting. So either these guys come after the frontrunner and distinguish themselves, or otherwise they’re wasting everybody’s time, and I say this with a lot of respect.

Newsom referenced the reportedly discounted Fox News advertisement slots for the debate, concluding, “There’s a reason some of the advertising’s been discounted for this debate. People don’t even wanna tune in because they know that fundamentally.”

Watch above via News 18.