In a televised debate segment, Dennis Prager introduces a discussion on crime rates, framing California as a "free and energetic" state contrasted with a deteriorating Florida. Sean Hannity presents FBI violent‑crime statistics for 2022, showing California at 499.5 offenses per 100,000 (well above the national average of 380.7) and Florida at 258.9. Governor Gavin Newsom acknowledges California’s long‑term decline in violent crime but shifts focus to Florida’s murder rate, claiming seven of the nation’s ten highest murder rates are in red states and that Florida’s gun‑death rate is 66 % higher than California’s. He then attacks Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, accusing him of weakening gun‑safety measures after the 2018 Parkland shooting by signing a concealed‑carry bill that, according to victims’ families, makes it easier for felons to obtain firearms. The exchange blends statistical comparison, political framing, and policy criticism, positioning the debate as a contest over truth, safety, and governmental responsibility.
Chapters
The fact that Newsom would even agree to a debate representing the deteriorating state versus the, the most free and energetic state in the union, it's the very fact that he would show up shows you that He believes that the truth doesn't matter. That's the only way to explain his appearance. So listen to the crime debate part.
Let's look at the issue of crime. FBI numbers violent crime nationally for each of your states. Keep in mind, this statistic shows what is the combined rate of homicide, robbery, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, the year 2022. On the national level, the rate was 380.7 offenses per 100,000 people. In California, meanwhile, the rate was much higher, 499.5 offenses per 100,000. In Florida, lower, 258.9 offenses per 100,000. Governor Newsom, let me start with you. Your numbers are way higher than the national average. How do you explain that when safety and security, I would argue, is a prerequisite for the pursuit of happiness?
Well, I couldn't agree with you more. We're near 50-year lows, down 55% violent crimes in the state of California from the 1990s. And I want to compare and contrast that with the issue in Florida that you didn't mention, and that's the murder rate. And let's broaden it more broadly. The issue is 7 out of 10—
those numbers were part of the murder rate—
7 of the top the top 10 murder rates in the United States of America are red states. He has a 66% higher gun death rate than the state of California. He has a higher murder rate. Go to places like Jacksonville. Go to places like Orlando. Go to places like Tampa. The murder rate's off the charts compared to cities like San Francisco. And you know what? Even more egregiously, Sean, and I think this is important, the American people deserve an answer from you, Ron. You had one of the worst mass shootings in American history, Parkland. 17 kids were gunned down, lives lost. 17 others, lives torn asunder. You had a young girl by the name of Jamie Guttenberg whose father pleaded with you to do something about it. And you know what you did? You did the exact opposite. You made it easier for felons to get guns without background checks, without any training. These people pleaded with you, parents and the families, to get tough on gun safety. And again, you made it easier for felons. He said of you, Ron, and I agree with him, after, after you signed that concealed carry bill, which increases the likelihood, Fred Guttenberg said, of more Jamies losing their lives and more Parklands, he called you weak, pathetic, and small. So with respect, I appreciate you're talking to police officers in the state of California. You may want to spend a little bit more time not on the Ohio Trail and other places across this country. You may spend a little more time back in your home state and address the murder and gun violence.
Okay, so before he ends, Before he answers, this is awesome. Newsom was awesome. He has double the violent crime rate of Florida, and he gets out of it. You allowed a concealed weapons thing. To differ with a parent who lost a child is very difficult. There is no pain like that on earth. But the fact that you suffer doesn't make you right, obviously. There's an old Holocaust survivor who's pro-Hamas. The woman is sick. She— maybe the Holocaust caused her to be, to be psychologically disturbed. But you don't— you're not right and you're not wrong if you have suffered. Suffering does not give you correctness of a position. People who've suffered have opposite positions. So how do you judge on who suffered more? So it's somewhat demagogic to cite a left-wing parent who tragically and beyond belief, sadly, his daughter was murdered. So there are people who believe that if more people, more responsible people, get concealed weapon permits, you might have a better chance of killing a mass shooter. Right? I mean, is that not an argument? Is Israel now loosening its gun laws or tightening its gun laws? Is a killer more likely to attack a school that says a gun-free zone or one we allow concealed weapons on this campus? Which do you think a murderer is more likely to go to, Mr. Guttenberg? Anyway, it doesn't— he didn't answer. He picks Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville. Well, what we're talking about, the state on this line that the left gives, there's more of this crime in red states. The issue is not red states. The issue is red cities or blue cities. It's demagogic to speak of the state. Rural New York is not dangerous, New York City is. Rural Oregon is not dangerous, Portland is. Businesses aren't being smashed and stolen SUVs driven through windows in, in small cities which are overwhelmingly conservative. Oh God, to listen to this stuff, I should get paid more. Never said that in 40 years. Oh my God.
