California Governor Gavin Newsom refused to defend his home state when he took on Fox News host Sean Hannity in a newly released portion of their interview. (You can see a snippet of the interview below)
In previously aired footage of the interview, Newsom didn’t hold back his thoughts on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decisions regarding migrants while also running for President Joe Biden.
Hannity asked the governor questions about doing business in California, before Newsom hit back at claims that one company – Tesla – gave up its state headquarters to “save money”.
“They have moved their headquarters back. Just three weeks ago, they moved their R&D headquarters back. Why did you do that?” Newsom asked.
“They are trying to increase their profits and save money because the taxes are too high,” the host replied.
“Because we created the conditions for them to thrive and then reach a point of maturity where they become multinationals,” Newsom added of his home state.
“Because some are finding greener pastures or looking for a defensive stance when it comes to economic risk. But it’s in the thousands – we’ve got a 47% increase in start-ups this year compared to last year.”
Hannity later argued that the state’s corporations “paid that hefty tax liability” before the California governor acted on the host’s decision.
“We are on the way to becoming the fourth largest economy in the world. What are you arguing for? Mississippi’s economic policy?” Newsom asked when discussing Hannity’s attempts to interfere.
“Quite literally, that’s what you’re advocating. The great Sam Brownback’s Kansas politics? It was a debacle, not economic growth. It’s 71 percent of America’s GDP [in] blue counties. It’s 71 percent of America’s GDP [in] blue counties, progressive politics. 71 percent of the country’s wealth. Seven of the ten most dependent states are your states. We subsidize your states, Sean, because of your policies.”
“I’m in New York, you don’t subsidize anything from me,” observed Hannity, who later said he was “anything for” Mississippi and Alabama instead of New York and California.