>> sean: and welcome to "hannity" and we are broadcasting live just north of atlanta, georgia, in alpharetta, georgia, where in just a moment, we're going to hear from the republican governor of florida, to -- the democrat quarter of the great state of california for what is the first ever red state blue state debate on the fox news channel. we will do our best to give equal time to each governor. we will limit answers to 60 questions. we will be flexible as needed but the debate, as needed as long with a 32nd time for rebuttal. let me start by introducing both florida governor ron desantis california governor gavin newsom. thank you both for being here. i really appreciate it. i know both of you personally. i have known you both for a long time. i know you are very busy. are also notice. i know that both of you love your individual states. i know you both have a deep and abiding love for our country as i do. but where we are in the country, we have never kind of been this divided in a long time. there are clear and deep and profound differences in your approach to governance. and before we begin, one quick note to all of you watching at home. okay, now the longest running primetime host, i feel blessed in my 28-year at fox, it is kind of widely known that i am a conservative. however, tonight, i will be moderating this debate. i will not be part of the debate. are questions tonight will be coming from well sourced, fact centered perspectives and you will see it here, most of tonight's questions will deal with the most fundamental issu issues, the ones that impact the lives of the people that make this country great. the people of florida, the people in california, and in many ways, every state in the country will discuss taxes, the economy, crime, guns, homelessness, education, parental rights, abortion, gas prices, in other words, things that impact you every single day. in the end, you will get to decide which governing philosophy you believe is bett better, the governors will explain their governing philosophy and again, fact-based questions. let's get started. everybody ready? all right, as we speak, there is a phenomenon that is playing out across the entire country, americans they are leaving blue states in droves in favor of red states. you can see numbers on the screen righ right now, in the ys 2021 and 2022. these particular numbers are stark in the state that you read in the case of you, governor newsom, according to the u.s. census, where the numbers come from. in 2021, 2022, california's lost 750,000 residents to other states. governor desantis, during that same two-year period, you gained 454,000 residents. from other states. so governors desantis, we had a coin toss. i was not part of it. i missed it. but apparently governor newsom, you won the coin toss. and you chose to let governor desantis have the first question. you will get the last word tonight. so i begin with you, for governor newsom, i will ask, you know, what your response is on this as well. it is a simple question. how do you explain this phenomenon? governor, what is going on. >> when i was in the navy, i got orders to go to coronado in southern california and i was a floridian. i was like, man, this is one of the most beautiful places on earth and i think california has more natural advantages than any state in the country. you have almost don't you almost have to try to mess california up. that is what gavin newsom has done since he has been governor. he is the first governor to ever lose population, they actually at one point ran out of u-hauls in the state of california because so many people were leaving. of course, he has imposed restrictions on his own people while exempting himself from those restrictions and going to the french laundry while his people were suffering. he led the country in school closures, blocking kids out of school while he had his own kids in private school in person. no, he is very good at spending these tales. he is very good at being slick and slippery. he will tell a blizzard of wise to be able to try to mask the failures. but the reality is they have failed because of his leftist ideology. and the choice for america is this. what biden and harris and newsom want to do is take the california model and do that nationally. enforcer, we showed the conservative principles work. this country must choose freedom over failure. >> sean: governor newsom, your reaction. >> governor newsom: it is good to be with you, shaw sean. >> sean: i dressed up for the occasion. >> governor newsom: i'm impressed and i'm grateful. it is an important occasion. and i think it is important to the folks watching, they are probably wondering, what are we actually doing here? and i want to answer that very directly. i will tell you why i'm here. i'm here to tell the truth about the biden/harris record and compare it does compare and contrast ron desantis' record as a points of contrast that is as different as daylight and darkness. you want to bring us back to pre-1960s world. america, in reverse. you want to roll back hard earned national rights on voting rights, on civil rights, lgbtq rights, on women's rights, not just access to abortion, but also access to contraception. you want to weaponize grievance. you are focusing on false separateness. you in particular, ron, are a cultural purge intimidating and humiliating people you disagree with. you and president trump are really trying to make democracy on fire. so sean, there are profound differences tonight. and i look forward in engaging. but there's one thing in closing that we have in common, is neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024. >> sean: governor, a great opening statement. can you explain this migration? out of california and going to red states. >> governor desantis: you mean the last two years, more floridians going to californians than california is going to florida? that is going to be fun to fact check. has no peers. california dominates. the size of 21 state populations combined. fifth largest economy in the road. we dominate. number one manufacturing state. we dominate research and development. access to innovation, or scientist, or more researchers, more engineers, more nobel laureates in the state of california than any other state in the ignition. the finest system of higher education. it is the birthplace of life science and biotech and nanotechnology. we dominate in green tech. we dominate in high-tech. we dominate in artificial intelligence. so with respect, i think it is an interesting campaign strategy for ron desantis to be passing the state of 40 million americans went california simply has no peers. >> governor desantis: that is a pretty slick way of not answering your question. he went on a binge of putting out a lot of left-wing platitudes. i talked to all people that moved from california to florida and we never used to get people -- or any one because why would you leave california? it has the best weather. excuse me, sir. one of the things that i did, i had -- i was talking to a gentleman -- >> sean: guys, i'm going to let the debate read. let's take turns. >> governor desantis: i was talking to a fellow who made the move from california to florida and he said that florida is safer, lower taxes, and he is happy with the quality of life and then he paused and he said, by the way, pam gavin newsom's father-in-law. so we do count gavin's in-laws as some of the people who have fled california and why are we getting people to come? we have a 50 year low in the crime rate. you don't see, in the last 10 years, we had a 45% decline in homelessness. california has had a 44% increase in homelessness. we back the blue. i was walking the streets of san francisco a couple months ago and i had some of the cops in san francisco to a beeline to come over to me and i did not know what they were going to s say. they said, we want to thank you for standing for law enforcement because we don't get that support in the state of california. people understand the quality of life matters. they understand that florida is doing it right. and i can tell you the numbers speak for themselves. we have way more -- >> sean: can we move on? >> governor desantis: gavin can't say the awesome. >> sean: let me -- >> governor newsom: let's talk about crime. >> sean: hold on. wait a minute. hold on a second. >> governor newsom: you said a lot of things that were actually on on through. >> sean: 2020. you have yet to address the issue. i asked you twice. the issue of why this migration out of red states, i'm sorry, out of blue states. >> governor newsom: we just -- >> sean: i'm asking -- [overlapping speakers] >> it is a fact. robert let's go. your states have vastly different income tax rates. okay. it is what it is. these are the facts. california's hydrates top earners, 13%. married, well, for example, in california, earning a median income of 84,000, they have 86% income tax in the state of california. florida's income tax rate is 0% across all salaries. but it goes beyond income taxes. property taxes are lower in california. but everything else is higher. let's take a look at the numbers. these are the facts. the average property tax in california, .75%. 40, .91%. sales tax, california, 7.25%. four to 6%. gas the league tax -- gas tax rate, 77 cents a gallon. that is low estimate. it is up to a dollar when you include mandatory fees and in florida, it is 35 cents. corp. -- corporate income tax, california, 8.8%. governor newsom, this is your question. let me ask you, obviously, you support different philosophy, which is higher taxes -- >> governor newsom: hold on. this is a very different approach. i agree with you completely. he has one of the most regressive tax rates in the united states of america. at what that means is simply this. who does he tax? he taxes low income workers more than we tax millionaires and billionaires in the state of california. the question is a simple one. who, ron, are you up for? it is a factual light of the california has the highest tax rate but for whom? and it is a foundational fundamental difference. look at at states like texas, overwhelming majority of texans play more -- pay more taxes to the state of california. it is who you are for. and i think those values matter and i appreciate you bringing up the issue of taxes. >> governor desantis: how many people leave florida to go to california because they pay less taxes? i'm not saying that. are people going because they pay less taxes? of course not. to come to florida because they pay lower taxes. and yet california has the higher sales tax and that is one of the things that we do. here's the thing. i will give get them -- gavin credit. he admitted he has joined at the hip with biden/harris but he thinks biden and harris have done a great job. he thinks the economy is working. because of their's policies for americans and they are not. and so what california represents is the biden/harris agenda on steroids. they would love nothing more than to get four more years to be able to take the california model nationally. that would be disastrous for working people. >> governor newsom: we can talk about working people. they pay more in your state. and it is just -- >> governor desantis: it is true. >> governor newsom: you can't make this up. >> governor desantis: how do they afford that? these are folks that are blue-collar people. you are going to force everybody to buy an electric vehicle. how are they going to be a ford -- able to afford electric vehicle? california has one of the highest inequality rates. they have silicon valley billing is. they have a lot people that are on government assistance. they have hollowed out their middle-class. they have been leaving in other places. arizona, they go to nevada. >> sean: i do have a follow-up question. >> governor newsom: i'm happy that you continue to talk. let's talk about bidenomics. i'm happy to take that on as well. >> governor desantis: i appreciate you acknowledging that. >> governor newsom: 10 times more jobs than the last three republican presidents. >> governor desantis: because the jobs were because of the covid lockdown. are you kidding me? >> governor newsom: as it continues to talk over me, i will talk to the american people. the lowest unemployment in american history. the lowest unemployment for hispanics. the lowest unemployment for women in 70 years. that is this administration's agenda. and by the way, as you smile and smirk over there, you should know this, the american people, here's a guy who celebrated bidenomics just this week, celebrating $28 million that came in your state because of the chips and science, one of the most significant economic plants since fdr. i'm proud of th of the work biden/harris have done. >> sean: would you like to respond? i do have a follow-up. 6% rate on people, families, coupled in california, they pay 6% income tax on any $4,000 a year. [overlapping speakers] >> on asking about -- [overlapping speakers] >> governor newsom: california has lower taxes, lower than 32 states for working families in their middle-class, significantly lower taxes. >> sean: do you support that? do you support a 6% income tax. >> governor newsom: [indistinct] advantage billionaires and millionaires over working families. people in the state pay more taxes in the low end then we tax people on —-dash. >> governor desantis: how does that help working people? that does not help working people at all. how does paying an 8% sales tax help working people? that does not help working people at all. they have the highest taxes in the nation. people flee to be able to save money to get out of california and you have working class people that move to these other states, their dollars go much further but here is the thing. they want to takest bidenomics and they want to double down on this for the next four years. how many people are able to afford groceries now compared to what you were doing three or four years ago? i talked to people, you know, talk to a woman who had a cart full of groceries, going in and then bringing it up. a got to be so expensive she has to take a lot of the stuff out. i did not used to be the case. people is to be able to work hard and get ahead. that is not true under joe biden. and you know what, one more financing, california's unemployment rate is 60% higher than florida's unemployment rate. are an employment rate is 2.8%. >> sean: that goes to my next question. >> governor desantis: it is a command and control economy. they have a political agenda that they are pursuing. >> sean: let me ask a question. i think it is important. >> governor newsom: by the way, biden administration, the last three years, -- >> sean: is joe biden paying you tonight? i -- i thought this was a state versus state. >> governor newsom: it is about the united states of america. >> governor desantis: you just won't admit it. you will not admit it. >> sean: all right, gentlemen. we can't talk over each other. i'm going to move on to my next question. the unemployment rate in florida is 2.8%. as you stated. and california ranks second worst in the country at 4.8%. hold on. this question goes to governor desantis and then you will have a chance to respond. governor desantis? >> governor desantis: they tax too much. a big leg too much. they have a political agenda. they have lost a lot of companies. a lot of companies have moved to texas. they have lost a lot of companies to texas because they are not doing a good job looking out for folks and not creating a good business environment and i have people that come to florida, they tell me, you know, you guys actually want us to succeed in for the. and they feel like when they are in california, they don't want business to succeed. >> governor newsom: the tampa bay rays? >> governor desantis: i think that is an interesting point with disney. i had disney open during this covid and we made them a fortune and we saved a lot of jobs. you had disney close inexplicably for over a year. yeah. if you are not are following you were a lock down governor. you did a lot of damage to your people. you have more kids locked out of school for a longer period of time in california than anywhere else in the country. it was the working class kids. it was the middle income kids. his kids were in private school. they were in class -- the teachers union. he is owned by the teachers union. >> governor newsom: we will never cross —-dash. >> governor desantis: lock, stop, and real. >> governor newsom: let's talk about your record on covert on covert. he passed an emergency declaration. to close down your beaches, its bars, restaurants. it is a fact. you had quarantines. you had quarantines. you had checkpoints all over the state of florida. by the way, i did not say that. donald trump laid you out on this. you did that. he followed science. apollo tax. you follow science. >> governor desantis: that is not true. >> governor newsom: you follow tajik. you were promoting vaccines. >> sean: we were open. you were close. >> governor newsom: if it is okay with you -- [overlapping speakers] >> governor desantis: wire you closed for so long? >> sean: i'm trying to let it breathe. >> governor newsom: he did all of that until he decided to fall prey to the fringe of his party and as a consequence of that, tens of thousands of people lost their lives. >> governor desantis: is not true. >> governor newsom: if i had to both policies, the equivalence of tens of thousands of people lost their lives and for what? >> governor desantis: those are more lives. they did a study, for the had a lower a standardized covert death rate than california did. that is a -- one more thing. one more thing. the other thing he had, the other thing california had, california had higher excess mortality. >> sean: all right, gentlemen. gentlemen. guys. honestly, hold on a second. i want to ask you both if -- slow down. i want everyone to be heard. if i can ask you, i really do want this to breathe. i want this debate to organically develop. to do that, i need both of your cooperation. i don't want to be a hall monitor. that is not my style. you mentioned covid. let me go to covid. and i plan to bring this up later. but you both took a very different approaches as it comes to covid. governor newsom, you issued the nation's first stay-at-home order on march 19th of 2020. governor desantis, you took a lot of heat for reopening schools. you opened schools in florida in august of 2020. all right, so here's the data which i think is important. this is where the facts come in. your states death rates were almost identical. >> governor newsom: this is factually untrue. >> sean: okay. and by the way, both your states with such different approaches which is pretty fascinating, were both lower significantly lower than the national average. these numbers come straight from the cdc. so governor newsom, how do you explain that. >> governor newsom: per capita death rates were 29% per capita higher. >> governor desantis: that is not with the sets stay right there. >> governor newsom: , tens of thousands of people. >> governor desantis: don't lie about it. he put the graphic up there. don't lie about it. understand, you don't need to lie about it. >> governor newsom: you were a lock down governor. >> sean: what at a time. >> governor newsom: he is running away from the record. he is running away from the fact. tens of thousands of people died. >> sean: we saw the cdc nubbers. >> governor newsom: 29% higher death rate in the state. versus the state of california. >> governor desantis: the stats are very clear, california and florida basically the same. why is that important? because gavin newsom did huge damage to people and california. he ruined livelihoods. we reopened the estate very quickly. we saved thousands of jobs. we saved hun