Ron DeSantis is āfundamentally authoritarianā, but Donald Trumpās quest for āvengeanceā poses an even greater threat to democracy, Californiaās Democratic governor Gavin Newsom said on Sunday.
Newsom took aim at the leading two candidates for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination during a hard-hitting and wide-ranging interview on NBCās Meet the Press, the final episode with its long-time host Chuck Todd.
āI worry about democracy,ā he said. āI worry about the fetishness for autocracy that weāre seeing not just from Trump, but around the world, and notably across this country.
āIāve made the point about DeSantis that I think heās functionally authoritarian. Iām worried more, in many respects, about Trumpism, which transcends well beyond his term and time in tenure.ā
Newsom added: āThe vengeance in Donald Trumpās heart right now is more of a threat.ā
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Ron DeSantis is āfundamentally authoritarianā, but Donald Trumpās quest for āvengeanceā poses an even greater threat to democracy, Californiaās Democratic governor Gavin Newsom said on Sunday.
Newsom took aim at the leading two candidates for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination during a hard-hitting and wide-ranging interview on NBCās Meet the Press, the final episode with its long-time host Chuck Todd.
The governor, seen as a rising star in the Democratic party and a likely future presidential candidate, was referring to the former presidentās often-voiced promises to gain ārevengeā ā if he wins back the White House ā over political rivals he blames for the multiple criminal indictments against him.
He disagreed with DeSantisās strategy of lifting lockdowns and banning mask mandates, and attacked the Florida leaderās āpartisanshipā ā most recently on display when he snubbed Joe Bidenās visit to the state in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia.
The California governor said he was fine with the rightwing Fox personality Sean Hannity as moderator, making it effectively a ātwo-on-oneā debate in Newsomās words.
Newsom was also questioned on the future of the veteran California senator Dianne Feinstein, 90, whose recent health issues have led to long absences from the chamber and prompted calls for her to stand down.
The original article contains 782 words, the summary contains 207 words. Saved 74%. Iām a bot and Iām open source!