Newsom Trolls DeSantis For Taking ‘The Bait’ By Agreeing to Debate a Non-Candidate: ‘He Regrets Running For President’

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) sat down with Elex Michaelson, an anchor for FOX 11 News in Los Angeles, to discuss the second GOP presidential debate in his state and jabbed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for having agreed to debate him on Fox News.

“This week we learned that it’s going to happen. A debate between you and Ron DeSantis. November 30th, Fox News Channel, Sean Hannity in Georgia without a crowd. Just the two of you. Why are you doing that and what is your strategy?” Michaelson asked ahead of Wednesday night’s debate.

“Well, it’s, I don’t know if that’s the right question. Why is he doing it? Is the right question. He’s running, I think. I’m not sure after tonight. But currently, he’s running for president of the United States,” Newsom replied.

“You think he’s still going to be a candidate on November 30th?” Michaelson followed up, noting the date of their debate.

“That’s an open-ended question,” Newsom shot back, adding:

Part of me wonders if you know, the fact that he took this debate, the fact that he took the bait in relation to this debate shows that he’s completely unqualified to be United States. That’s my humble first opinion.

“Why is that? You’re baiting him with the debate?” Michaelson pressed.

“Of course. I mean, why is he debating a guy who’s not even running for president when he’s running for president?” Newsom queried, adding:

He’s showing up at the Reagan Library, hallowed ground. And he puts out an ad today not for his presidential campaign, but to promote a debate against the governor of California. I mean, this guy’s distracted. So I don’t know that he has it in his heart. I think here’s my personal opinion about Ron DeSantis. He regrets running for president. He made a huge mistake. He listened to his consultants. He bought his own hype. He had this little God complex. I mean, look at the ads themselves. Literally, God created.

I mean, he bought into all this stuff and he quickly regretted it, but he’s stuck. And here’s the problem. You got one chance of first impression. He’s belly flopped. He’s down 30-plus points from where he started. So it’s a terrible situation for him.

Watch the full clip above.