Ron DeSantis says Gavin Newsom’s pandering to his base ensures he can’t be President

Gavin Newsom, Ron DeSantis. Image via AP.

A former presidential candidate has some advice for a frenemy who may be running for the same office soon enough.

Saying that Democrats have an approval rating of less than 20% nationally, Ron DeSantis said Gavin Newsom is “kowtowing to those folks who represent the 18% who are out of step with the rest of America.”

Yet by appealing to the base, he’s debasing himself with voters outside the Democratic camp, DeSantis posited.

“He’s getting more popular with them, but I think in the process, turning off middle America,” DeSantis said on Thursday’s “Hannity,” counter-programming the NFL season opener with political commentary.

DeSantis continues to attempt to goad Newsom into confrontation, mentioning him repeatedly and even trying to get a rematch of a debate with him on Hannity’s show in 2023, when DeSantis was at the zenith of his national influence and Newsom lingered in the shadows of a fading Joe Biden and a retrospectively inevitable Kamala Harris.

But the tables have turned, and now indications are the California Democrat may have a more likely political future than the man hailed by fans as “America’s Governor” once upon a time.

A national Emerson College survey suggests that Newsom may not benefit from the free publicity he’d get from a second showdown with DeSantis.

For starters, Newsom is much better positioned to get the Democratic nomination than DeSantis is the GOP nod.

The August survey shows the Golden State Governor atop the Democratic field, drawing support from 1 in 4 respondents. No one else is even close.

Conversely, DeSantis is a weak third place on the GOP side.

Ohio’s JD Vance has 52% support, far ahead of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s 9% and DeSantis’ 7%.

Adding insult to injury, it’s Newsom and not DeSantis who is getting a trial heat on a national General Election ballot test, and Newsom is holding his own. He’s tied 44% to 44% with Vance, closing a 3-point deficit (45% to 42%) in the July poll with a 17-point lead with younger voters.

“Honestly, I kind of forgot Ron DeSantis is still Governor,” Newsom said last month, denoting “sub-zero interest” in debating “Sean Hannity and Ron DeSantis” again.