Like his boss, President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance has a knack for oftentimes triggering his political opposition, which was evident Friday when Vance referred to Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) as "Jose Padilla" in remarks made during a visit to the Golden State.
As we reported, Vance's comments, made in Los Angeles in context of a question about Democrats arrested by the Trump administration, sparked a response from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who said, "You served with him today, and how dare you disrespect him and call him Jose, but I guess he just looked like anybody to you. Well, he's not just anybody to us. He is our senator."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, too, reached for the (insinuated) race card, tweeting, "JD Vance served with Alex Padilla in the United States Senate. Calling him 'Jose Padilla' is not an accident."
But that's not all Newsom said about Vance on Friday night. 45 minutes later, a desperate Newsom challenged Vance to a debate:
Hey @JDVance — nice of you to finally make it out to California. Since you’re so eager to talk about me, how about saying it to my face? Let’s debate. Time and place?
Obviously, the guy who is all but certain to officially commence with a 2028 presidential run at some point forgot how things turned out when he issued a similar challenge to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023.
Accordingly, people had thoughts:
I’m sure he would @GavinNewsom but it would be just like when you debated @GovRonDeSantis and you got pounded so bad your wife had to call it early. Would you be willing to go the full 12 rounds? https://t.co/H05EAao7S6
— James Gallagher (@J_GallagherAD3) June 21, 2025
Last time you debated all it took was taking a poop map out. https://t.co/DUoa3Y7lBm pic.twitter.com/5ZVnSU6uXU
— Prison Mitch (@MidnightMitch) June 21, 2025
You’ve never seen a thirstier person than Gavin Newsom. He’s literally spiraling for attention. https://t.co/FYZGSy4Pd3
— Link Lauren (@itslinklauren) June 21, 2025
You’re eager to debate @JDVance —but how about showing up to speak to your own legislators first?
— David Tangipa (@DavidTangipa) June 21, 2025
I’ve seen you once since taking office. Try fixing California before chasing headlines in Washington.
Anyone. Anytime. Anywhere.
Debate me, @GavinNewsom. @GovPressOffice https://t.co/To2Nmo2BPO
Since Gavin Newsom is so eager to jump into the 2028 presidential election, maybe you should check out what he’s done to California pic.twitter.com/3Vfmt988Ja https://t.co/ZinDmUE9Ip
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) June 20, 2025
Lol who is writing his tweets?
— Burt Macklin (@BurtMaclin_FBI) June 21, 2025
“Hey, bro! You wanna go? Let’s go! Let’s throw down…on the debate stage!”
This guy is the dork in high school. https://t.co/tnXEGlZc0L
Does anyone seriously think JD Vance, a Marine combat veteran who grew up on food stamps is afraid to say anything to Gavin Newsom’s face?
— Sovey (@sovey_X) June 21, 2025
Newsom was raised by the Getty family, propped up by Pelosi, and has lived his entire life in a privileged bubble.
There’s a lot of stupid… https://t.co/zwPThPNXZC
Suddenly, 2028 seems a long way off, doesn't it? ;)
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