Monday 19 September 2022 08:41 PM Gavin Newsom in war of words with DeSantis over Martha's Vineyard migrant flight trends now
California Governor Gavin Newsom has been accused of hypocrisy for harshly criticizing migrant transports from Texas and Florida, despite previously running his own initiative to bus homeless people away from San Francisco.
Newsom, a Democrat, engaged in a public war of words with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis after last week's high-profile flights carrying Venezuelan migrants to Martha's Vineyard.
In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Newsom demanded a criminal probe into Florida's airlift, calling it a 'morally reprehensible' and possibly illegal attempt to 'humiliate and dehumanize' the group of about 50 migrants.
DeSantis fired back at a press conference, saying Newsom's 'hair gel is interfering with his brain function'. Both governors are considered likely contenders for their respective parties' presidential nominations in the coming cycles.
Meanwhile, some of Newsom's critics have pointed out when he was mayor of San Francisco more than a decade ago, he spearheaded a program that offered free one-way Greyhound tickets.
The initiative, dubbed 'Homeward Bound', was described as Newsom's 'brainchild' in 2006 NPR report, which quoted him as praising the program for helping people 'turn their lives around.'
California Governor Gavin Newsom (left) has been engaged in a public war of words with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (right) after last week's high-profile flights carrying Venezuelan migrants to Martha's Vineyard
In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Newsom demanded a criminal probe into Florida's airlift, calling it 'morally reprehensible' and possibly illegal
The contrast led some critics to accuse Newsom of double standards, with conservative commentator Rusty Weiss writing in a column: 'if shipping people out of state to try and give them a better life amounts to "kidnapping," Newsom has some explaining to do.'
In a statement to DailyMail.com, Newsom's spokesperson Erin Mellon slammed the accusation, writing: 'There is no comparison between the two. SF helped people get home to their families. GOP Republicans kidnapped people for a political stunt.'
'The Republican stunt lied to people about what they would receive and where they were going, and provided no support, instead dumping them on the street as political pawns,' added Mellon.
According to multiple
