As predicted, the much-anticipated/hyped debate between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom exceeded expectations, with the 2024 GOP presidential candidate raining down the inconvenient facts about the state of things in the Golden State versus Sunshine State in such a way that the MSM was reduced to doing some post-debate fawning over Newsom's... smile and body language.

Not surprisingly, the way DeSantis owned Newsom throughout the 90-minute back and forth has had Newsom's team crying some delicious tears and alleging "cheating," implying without evidence that DeSantis and debate host/moderator Sean Hannity conspired to tag team against him throughout the course of the debate, and spinning it in a way that made Newsom sound Herculean in the aftermath:

Thursday’s raucous debate is giving way to bitter disappointment with and outright hostility toward Fox News and its host from the California Democrat’s camp.

Before Ron DeSantis could unveil his “poop map,” Gov. Gavin Newsom team’s frustration with Sean Hannity and his crew centered on his promises to them that he would be a fair moderator, only to repeatedly sandbag the governor and give the entire affair a 2-on-1 dynamic — as they saw it.

“The debate was rigged, and Newsom still won,” Newsom adviser Sean Clegg said.

Among the unsubstantiated allegations from Newsom HQ is that DeSantis supposedly could see the teleprompter where Newsom's team says topics were announced ahead of time and at one point left the podium to go to the bathroom and spoke to his wife in the process, a supposed violation of the alleged rules. 

There was also the claim that DeSantis should not have been allowed to bring in the "props" he used - the printout of the infamous poop map and the printout of the pornographic page from the children's book he referenced, both of which were highlight-reel moments from the debate.

But one key paragraph and quote from Poltico's story on the Newsom camp's fuming perhaps said it all, hinting that they knew after 90 minutes that Newsom was done and shouldn't embarrass himself further:

A DeSantis aide said California first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom was the one who stepped in and ended the debate on her husband’s behalf after Hannity invited the two governors to go deeper into overtime. A second person on the ground confirmed that.

“Gavin Newsom got beat so badly last night his wife literally had to throw in the towel for him. It was embarrassing,” DeSantis spokesperson Andrew Romeo said.

(READ: Here Are Jennifer Newsom's Disgusting Comments About the Employee Gavin Had an Affair With While SF Mayor)

The statement is at odds with a tweet Newsom posted sometime after the debate, where he suggested he could have stayed longer:

That was fun -- I could have kept going!

The DeSantis campaign had a little fun with it:

Edited for accuracy. https://t.co/G9P6Omrs1i pic.twitter.com/pHKGxUVEeC

— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) December 1, 2023

Memo to Gavin Newsom: Mess with the bull, get the horns. Oh, and maybe ignore Nikki Fried next time?

Gavin Newsom’s team reached out to the FLDP for help to prep for tonight’s debate with Ron DeSantis.
He was given Nikki Fried as a coach. pic.twitter.com/YjWYi4Spek

— Brad Slager: Flips On The Highbeams In Fog Of War (@MartiniShark) November 30, 2023

With or without Fried, though, Newsom didn't stand a chance.

Flashback -->> WATCH: An Unwitting Newsom Hands DeSantis a Pre-Debate Gift in Announcement on APEC Preparations