California Gov. Newsom Urges Floridians to ‘Fight for Your Freedom!’

“Freedom is under attack in your state,” Newsom said in a TV ad that aired on the right-wing Fox News channel over the Fourth of July holiday.

Even though it was a sunny day in Florida, with nary a black cloud in sight, Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ Fourth of July celebration may have been dampened by recent developments coming from California.

That is because Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of the Golden State, issued an urgent call to Floridians to fight for freedom in their state, or move to California.

“Freedom is under attack in your state,” Newsom said in a TV ad which aired on the right-wing Fox News channel over the Fourth of July holiday.

A No-Holds-Barred Move

In a bold, direct hit at Sunshine State Republicans’ ultra conservative playbook, Newsom denounced DeSantis’ move to curtail the rights of the LGBTQ community by signing the controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law that bans discussion of gender in primary school. The GOP governor also issued a 15-week abortion ban that a state judge has temporarily banned, and last year issued voting legislation that limits ballot drop-box hours and requires mail-in ballots every year, instead of every four years. Critics have called it “Jim Crow 2.0” because it mostly affects people of color. Books have also been banned across the state, including math texts that allegedly contained critical race theory, a discussion of racial inequity which opponents believe is seeking to “indoctrinate students.”

RELATED: Charlie Crist: ‘Floridians Are Struggling Across the State, and Ron DeSantis Is to Blame’

“Republican leaders—They’re banning books, making it harder to vote, restricting speech in classrooms, even criminalizing women and doctors,” said the blue state politician. “I urge all of you to join the fight, or join us in California, where we still believe in freedom.”

This comes after repeated speculation that DeSantis will run for president in 2024.

For his part, Newsom, who has ruled out any interest in running for the White House in the near future, signed a bill protecting abortion providers in his state from liability or prosecution for providing out-of-state abortions.