Gavin Newsom didn’t back down from Sean Hannity’s fiery questioning about the homeless crisis in California – including its relative size compared with de facto rival Florida – saying “we own” the numbers and blaming the cost of housing and “localism.”
“The state has not made progress in the last two decades as it relates to homeless,” the California governor said flatly at the top of an excerpt provided by Fox News, which you can watch below. The entire interview, Newsom’s first with the conservative cable news network in over a decade, was scheduled to air Monday night at 9 p.m. on “Hannity.”
The namesake host then asked Newsom why the state has been backsliding, pushing back when Newsom tried to pin blame on a Republican governor from 18 years ago.
“Because housing costs are too high,” Newsom said. “Our regulatory thickets are too problematic. Localism has been too impactful, meaning people locally are pushing back against new housing starts and construction. I’ve been here four years. I can’t make up for the fact in 2005 we had an historic number of homeless under a Republican administration.”
“Right now there’s 171,000 estimated,” Hannity retorted.
“Disgraceful, disgraceful,” Newsom said.
Hannity inevitably compared California’s numbers to 26,000 homeless estimated in Florida, with which Newsom has been in a war of words as Ron DeSantis ramps up his presidential campaign.
“Of course,” Newsom said. “Not even comparable.”
Hannity noted that the numbers are out of whack given the states’ similar climates.
“The dynamics are very different,” Newsom replied. “That said, we own this, Sean. I’m not here defending this.”
