DeSantis says crime is at a 50-year LOW in Florida and tears into homelessness and violence in San Francisco - while Newsom hits back and claims murder rate is HIGHER in red states

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis hammered California Governor Gavin Newsom on the crime rate in the Golden State during their televised debate Thursday, with Newsom being forced to play defense on the issue. 

Crime in Democrat-run cities like Los Angeles has soared following the defund police movement. The lax law enforcement has sparked an exodus of residents to Republican states such as Texas and Florida. 

Debate moderator Sean Hannity showed a graphic displaying how there were nearly 500 violent crimes 100,000 people in California, versus a national average of 380.7 and Florida's rate of 258.9

DeSantis responded to those rates and Newsom's arguments against them by calling him a 'slick politician.'

'You saw the rates, he has 500 per 100,000, Florida is 250. People are leaving California in droves, largely because public safety has collapsed. When Californians come to Florida, people say it's like an out-of-body experience.'

He also accused Newsom of having 'basically legalized retail theft' with many stores putting products under lock and key out of fear of robbery.

'They have chosen in California to put the interests of the criminals over public safety. They're easier on sex offenders, they're easier on all these crimes that are leading to a collapse in the quality of life.'

DeSantis, who says crime is at a 50-year low in Florida, then slammed Newsom for taking 'the San Francisco model' and using it as 'California's model.' 

When challenged on the crime and lawlessness that have seemingly become the norm in his state, Governor Newsom deflected, comparing crime rates to that of the 1990s. He then attempted to turn it on DeSantis.

'We're near 50-year lows, down 55 percent violent crimes in the state of California in the 1990s,' Newsom said. 'I want to compare and contrast that with the issue in Florida and that's the murder rate.

Newsom then attacked, claiming that seven of the top ten murder rates in America are 'red states' like the ones DeSantis governs. 

According to CBS News, while many of the cities in the top ten are in states with Republican governors, all ten of them have Democrat mayors.

Newsom also claimed that Florida had a higher gun death rate and that cities like Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa Bay have murder rates 'off the charts' compared to San Francisco. All of those cities have Democrat mayors as well. 

DeSantis responded by cracking of Newsom : 'I know you like to jabber, I know you like to lie.' 

According to Los Angeles crime statistics, from October 1 to October 28 there have been 718 robberies in the city. 

There were a total of 7,111 robberies in 2023, higher than the number of reported robberies in 2022. 

Overall crime rates in the Golden State have soared in recent times as flash mobs and looters have raided storefronts.

A rise in homelessness and drug addiction has also plagued the area and has contributed to the uptick in crime. 

In September Newsom signed a law that added an 11 percent tax on top of the federal governments already implemented gun tax.  

Debate host Fox News billed the 90-minute affair as 'The Great Red vs. Blue State Debate.' 

It was held in a television studio with no audience in Georgia, a location chosen for its key swing-state implications in national politics. 

And it played out in the heart of presidential primary season with voters in both parties paying closer attention to their 2024 options heading into next fall's general election.

Newsom initially challenged DeSantis to a debate in September 2022. At the time, DeSantis was not yet running in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.

DeSantis is now running but consistently polling second, far behind Trump.

He has already participated in three Republican presidential primary debates against his GOP competitors without Trump ahead of the battle with Newsom.

Meanwhile, Newsom is not in the 2024 race – and insists he has no intentions of entering the running and instead is serving as a surrogate to Biden.

In an interview with Hannity in June, Newsom, a liberal, again said he would debate DeSantis, a conservative, with the Fox host moderating.

DeSantis officially agreed in August, telling Hannity during an interview: 'I'm game. Let's get it done. Just tell me when and where.'

'We were shocked when he accepted,' the Californian's spokesman said to DailyMail.com.

'Newsom had been challenging Desantis (sic) for months to debate, and the fact that he finally accepted as his campaign was circling the drain shows just how bad Desantis (sic) needs to distract from his disaster of candidacy,' he added.

Newsom, California's 56-year-old term-limited governor, has positioned himself to seek the Democratic nomination for presidency someday.

But like the rest of his party's most ambitious leaders, he declined to challenge Biden for the nomination in 2024. 

Instead, he's emerged as a leading defender of Biden and a formal campaign adviser.

He embraced that role Thursday night after DeSantis said he was 'joined at the hip with Biden and (Vice President Kamala) Harris.' 

Later, the Florida governor said that Biden, at 80 years old, is 'in decline' and represents 'a danger to the country.'

'I'm proud of the work Biden and Harris have done,' Newsom said, ticking through unemployment statistics. 'I will take Joe Biden at 100 rather than Ron DeSantis any day of the week at any age.'

Trump´s campaign, aware that the unusual event was drawing national attention, unleashed a slew of fresh insults at DeSantis, one of his strongest Republican primary rivals, shortly before it began.

'Ron DeSanctimonious is acting more like a thirsty, third-rate OnlyFans wannabe model than an actual presidential candidate,' the Trump campaign wrote, using one of the many nicknames the former president has given his rival. 

'Instead of actually campaigning and trying to turn around his dismal poll numbers, DeSanctus is now so desperate for attention that he´s debating a Grade A loser like Gavin Newsom.'