THE BUZZ — Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis both got what they wanted last night — a primetime spot on national television. The American public got… not much else. Years of pent-up rage (and a healthy dose of political ambition) resulted in more crosstalk and accusations of lying than substantive argument. FOX moderator Sean Hannity spent much of the time trying to get DeSantis and Newsom to stop talking over one another — despite repeatedly saying he didn’t want to “play hall monitor.” Weeks ahead of the debate Newsom had anticipated it would be two against one, and that was proven to be true. If you include the loaded, factually dubious questions and charts, it was three against one. Hannity’s questions were transparently crafted to appeal to his conservative viewers, and while he let DeSantis talk at length, he often interrupted Newsom, who found himself struggling to get his points across. The debate covered all of the usual suspects — abortion, crime, homelessness, cost of living, LGBTQ students, immigration, and President Joe Biden’s record — but it also left us with some notable one-liners and moments that were downright weird. Our colleagues Christopher Cadelago and Kimberly Leonard parsed through the noise last night, and you can read their takeaways here. Newsom certainly seemed to have a good time, tweeting after the fact, “that was fun – I could have kept going!” (Forgive us, governor, but we’re so glad you didn’t.) Below are some of our most memorable moments and phrases of the night. Let us know what we missed, and which ones will be seared into your memories forever. Newsom’s needling — "You're trying to get some news and attention so you can out-Trump Trump, and how's that going for you, Ron? You're down 41 points in your own home state,” the California governor said. "There's one thing that we have in common: Neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024." "When are you going to drop out and at least give Nikki Haley a shot to take down Donald Trump in this nomination? She laid you out." On retail theft — “A lot of the women tell me they have to take off all their jewelry just to be able to go shopping because otherwise they're gonna get mugged,” DeSantis said. Newsom defends trans kids — "Ron, these kids just want to live... where is the decency and humanity?" the governor said. “I don't like the way you demean people. I don't like the way you demean the LGBTQ community. I don't like the way you demean and humiliate people you disagree with, Ron.” The poop map — At one point DeSantis pulled out a San Francisco map covered in brown splotches indicating all the places humans have defecated. "Human feces is now a fact of life, except when a communist dictator comes to town," he said, referencing Xi Jinping's presence at APEC. Bonus comment: “California does have freedoms that the other states don't: You have the freedom to defecate in public in California,” DeSantis said. The age question — “I will take Joe Biden at 100 versus Ron DeSantis any day of the week at any age,” Newsom said. Newsom’s 2028 campaign slogan? — "We all want to be protected, respected and connected.” GOOD MORNING. Happy Friday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. | 
