Gavin Newsom Laughs at Ron DeSantis in His Own Backyard

California Governor Gavin Newsom took his feud with his Florida counterpart Ron DeSantis to new heights, traveling across the country to challenge the Republican governor in his own backyard and taking a moment to laugh at him while he was there.

On Wednesday, Newsom met with New College of Florida students and faculty in a show of solidarity at the liberal arts institution after the college became an epicenter of the DeSantis administration's efforts to battle "woke" policies in higher education.

In addition to crackdowns on "woke" education challenged in court, the Republican governor and his allies recently launched a top-down restructuring of the school in efforts to make it a more conservative institution in a move the largely progressive and LGBTQ+ friendly student body has described as a "hostile takeover" that infringes on their academic freedom.

In January, DeSantis appointed seven new members to the 13-member Board of Trustees at New College comprised of conservative insiders and think tankers, using his new majority to enact significant changes at the school. At its first meeting, the board voted to fire New College President Patricia Okker and replace her with DeSantis' first commissioner of education, Richard Corcoran, at double her salary.

Later board meetings included the elimination of the school's diversity and equity programs—which DeSantis has regularly criticized—with new trustees claiming those initiatives actually served to divide students.

Newsom, a Democrat, is now seeking to use those changes as a wedge against DeSantis in a future, potential campaign.

On Wednesday, the California governor and potential future challenger to DeSantis for president, traveled to the school to meet with students and faculty to address DeSantis' efforts to crack down on the school, where he compared their plight to that of civil rights leader Rosa Parks, for whom her decision to refuse to move to the back of a segregated bus was only the beginning of a longer boycott.

"People forget what happens after that moment, that 'no,' after that expression," Newsom said in a video shared by Gannett reporter Zac Anderson. "That's where history is made. That's where history is changed."

Newsom also used the opportunity to fire a shot at DeSantis' board's decision to dismantle the school's diversity programs after one person in attendance noted the office was only made up of four individuals.

"I don't mean to laugh but geez," Newsom was quoted as saying.

Newsweek reached out to Newsom's office via email for comment.

Reached for comment Wednesday, a spokesperson in DeSantis' office referred a Newsweek reporter to a GIF tweeted out by DeSantis spokesperson Bryan Griffin late last month for use in response to "all of the future bogus media & political hoaxes" depicting a speech in which his boss chastised members of the press for focusing on political stunts.

"If you want to waste your time on a stunt, that's fine," DeSantis says in the GIF. "But I'm not wasting my time on your stunts."