Gavin Newsom says he would have killed as many Californians as ‘TEN 9/11s’ if he used Florida COVID policies – while DeSantis says Democrats’ lockdowns ‘ruined livelihoods’ while kids were in school

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday night that 10 Californians who survived 9/11 would have died from Covid-19 if he had followed the same policies as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The two took part in a red-state versus blue-state debate in Georgia moderated by Fox News’ Sean Hannity, with COVID-19 playing a supporting role.

At the height of the debate, DeSantis criticized Newsom for going to the French Laundry restaurant while other Californians were stuck at home, while Newsom responded by saying DeSantis was following the recommendations of Dr. Anthony Fauci until the GOP changed its tune .

Newsom noted that DeSantis closed beaches, bars and restaurants, promoted vaccines and wore a mask.

“He did all this until he decided to become a victim of the fringes of his party,” Newsom said. “And as a result of this, Ron, tens of thousands of people died.” The equivalent—if I had your policy—is the equivalent of ten 9/11 events.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (pictured) said Thursday night that “ten Californians who survived 9/11” would have died from COVID-19 if he had followed the same policies as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (left) slapped and shamed Newsom for “destroying livelihoods.” We opened the state very quickly. We saved hundreds of thousands of jobs. We saved thousands of businesses”

Los Angeles Times report Before the debate, it was revealed that, on a per capita basis, significantly more Floridians than Californians have died during the pandemic.

Of the four most populous states, California lost 2,560 people for every million residents, while Florida lost 4,044 people for every million, according to a Times analysis of Johns Hopkins University data.

But DeSantis argued that the two states’ death rates are “virtually the same.”

“Why is this so important?” – he thought. “Gavin Newsom has caused enormous harm to people in California. He destroyed livelihoods. We opened the state very quickly. We saved hundreds of thousands of jobs. We have saved thousands of businesses. Our children were at school. He banned children from going to school because of the teachers’ unions.”

DeSantis said keeping children out of school has had a “generational impact” and blamed California for having one of the lowest literacy rates in the country.

“So you should apologize for not bringing your children to school. Why didn’t you send your kids to school in the summer of 2020 like we did?” DeSantis asked.

Newsom responded and said that “the only person who should be apologizing is Ron DeSantis.”

Crowds took over Ocean Drive in Miami Beach during spring break in March 2021 as the COVID-19 vaccine first began to be distributed. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis began reopening the state in May 2020 without requiring residents to wear masks.

“For the tens of thousands of lives that were lost in vain because he played on the fringes of his party,” the California governor said.

During the pandemic that began under former President Donald Trump, the Republican leader initially supported social distancing policies, including temporarily closing businesses and schools, to stop the spread of the contagious disease.

But as months passed, Trump began pushing Republican leaders to reopen their states. DeSantis began the process in May 2020, two months after the pandemic struck and the president held Florida up as an example.