DeSantis takes swipe at San Francisco in campaign ad shot in city's Tenderloin
SAN FRANCISCO -- Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis recently visited Northern California and shot a campaign ad during a stop in San Francisco that was highly critical of the city.
DeSantis tweeted out the video Tuesday afternoon. It shows him standing at the corner of Geary and Hyde streets in the city's Tenderloin.
"We're here in the once great city of San Francisco. We came in here and saw people defecating in the street. We saw people using heroin, we saw people smoking crack cocaine," DeSantis said in the ad. "This city is not vibrant anymore. It's really collapsed because of leftist policies. And these policies have caused people to flee this area,"
He claimed that the problems in San Francisco have directly led to many residents leaving the city and relocating to Florida.
DeSantis has previously targeted California and San Francisco during his campaign. Last week, he escalated his feud with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, daring the West Coast Democrat to "stop pussyfooting around" and launch a primary challenge against President Joe Biden.
DeSantis, who announced his presidential campaign late last month, took on Newsom during a news conference in Florida in which he was asked about Newsom's recent comments to Fox News agreeing to a hypothetical debate with DeSantis hosted by Sean Hannity.
"He's got huge problems in his state –- I mean, like, huge problems in his state," DeSantis said. "Yet with all those problems, he has a real serious fixation on the state of Florida. I think it's just bizarre."
DeSantis then turned to the Democrats' 2024 primary election, in which Biden is facing only token opposition.
"You know what? Stop pussyfooting around," DeSantis said. "Are you gonna throw your hat in the ring and challenge Joe? Are you going to get in and do it? Or are you just gonna sit on the sidelines and chirp?"
DeSantis' jab comes as he shies away from confrontation with his chief rival in the GOP's White House primary, former President Donald Trump. Newsom has previously said he would not challenge Biden in 2024 but has taken steps to boost his national profile in recent months.
The most recent CBS News poll of likely GOP voters has DeSantis trailing Trump by nearly 40 points.
