While it is clear to anyone who watched the debate between Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom Thursday evening that DeSantis mopped the floor with Newsom, the usual post-debate spin was in full force after its conclusion. As is always the case after a debate, both men's teams declared their side to have been the victor. Of course, the liberal media has done what it always does after a debate: side with the Democrats.
But make no mistake about it. Newsom and his team know he lost the debate. Here's how we know.
After the debate, Newsom's team not only accused both Sean Hannity and Ron DeSantis of cheating but also appeared to pull the plug on continuing.
According to a report from Politico, "A DeSantis aide said California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom was the one who stepped in and ended the debate on her husband’s behalf after Hannity invited the two governors to go deeper into overtime. A second person on the ground confirmed that."
Of course, one of Newsom's aides disputed this, claiming that both sides had wanted to end the debate, which had already gone for 95 minutes.
“Ron didn’t want to do the debate anymore, either. Everyone shook hands and left,” the anonymous Newsom aide told Politico.
However, DeSantis's team indicated that it would have continued.
Related: WATCH: The Moment Ron DeSantis Won the Debate With Gavin Newsom
Next were the accusations of cheating.
During the debate, DeSantis pulled out a censored copy of a page from the book "Gender Queer," a graphic novel depicting sexual acts between minors that has caused controversy after schools allowed it in libraries and curricula. DeSantis later pulled out a map of San Francisco from an app designed for users to report locations where human feces have been found on the streets. Nearly the entire city was covered. Newsom's team claimed that its staffers were informed that no props or graphics were allowed on stage, only a "pen and pad of paper."
“He carried around porn and poop in his suit jacket,” the Newsom aide said.
While it's encouraging that the aide admitted that "Gender Queer" was porn, a Fox News spokesperson explained that “the word ‘props’ was never discussed ahead of the debate, not one time. The final agreement simply stated that neither side (Newsom or DeSantis) can use multimedia production. That was an issue about whether each side wanted to do a short production on what makes their individual states great at the start of the debate.”
Newsom's staff also objected to Hannity's use of graphics during the debate. Several times over the 95-minute debate, Hannity presented graphics featuring statistics comparing Florida and California on issues like crime, migration, and COVID-19 — all of which were unflattering to California. But the Fox News spokesperson responded by pointing out that Sean Hannity had made his intention to use "full screens" very clear, which the network mentioned many times before the debate, and the only condition Newsom's team requested was that no video be used — a request that was honored.
“The debate was rigged,” Newsom adviser Sean Clegg whined. "And Newsom still won."
It sure doesn't sound like Newsom's team thinks that he won. The Politico story is a laundry list of accusations from the Newsom camp — including the hilarious claim that DeSantis somehow had access to a teleprompter that revealed upcoming topics to DeSantis during the debate.
Newsom's people are acting like children, accusing DeSantis of cheating six ways to Sunday — essentially making excuses for Newsom's poor performance.
