Preview of 2028? Gavin Newsom knocks ‘anti-Black’ laws pushed by Ron DeSantis

The transcontinental feud between Governors with higher ambitions continues.

During a stop in South Carolina, California Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized culture war legislation approved by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Newsom, a potential candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, took issue with “a major state like Florida rewriting the history books, censoring historic facts, going so far to take out the race of Rosa Parks because it was perceived as too woke.”

After his reference to the 20th century civil rights figure whose Blackness was elided from a historical lesson about her act of civil disobedience as a concession to Florida’s HB 7, Newsom rattled off other Florida laws that he claimed sought to marginalize Black people.

“The anti-woke laws, which were nothing more than anti-Black,” Newsom continued. “What’s the whole point of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion)? The assault on DEI, ESG (environmental and social governance), CRT (critical race theory). Remember that?”

Newsom said Democrats were “playing defense” when those pushes were happening.

Of course, the invective flows both ways, with DeSantis (who has not done anything to scotch perception that he is a potential candidate for the GOP nomination in 2028) routinely invoking California as a rhetorical punching bag in recent weeks.

During last month’s riots in Los Angeles protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity, DeSantis said on the Fox News Channel that Newsom’s team thought forces from Florida would “inflame the situation.”

The two famously debated on that same channel nearly two years ago, as DeSantis pursued the 2024 GOP nomination and Newsom was perceived by some as a potential replacement for President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket. What’s clear is that both men are comfortable using each other as foils for partisan audiences.