Ron DeSantis' Poop Map During Gavin Newsom Debate Brutally Mocked

A clip of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis holding up a map showing "human feces that are found on the streets of San Francisco" during his debate with California Governor Gavin Newsom has gone viral on social media.

The two governors clashed over a range of issues including crime, abortion and civil rights during a heated debate in Georgia hosted by Fox News.

Discussing the problem of vagrancy in California, Newsom said: "We've also invested unprecedented resources in reforming our behavioral health system. Ron has literally the worst mental health system in America, forgive me, outside of Mississippi and Texas, so with all due respect to being lectured on some of these topics Ron DeSantis is not the one I'm going to be listening to."

The Florida governor immediately hit back by raising a printout and stating: "This is a map of San Francisco. There's a lot of plots on that, you may be asking what is that plotting? Well this is an app where they plot the human feces that are found on the streets of San Francisco."

Newsom: Ron has literally the worst mental health system in America. Forgive me outside of Mississippi and Texas..

DeSantis: *hold up feces map* pic.twitter.com/mVmAHY5LsX — Acyn (@Acyn) December 1, 2023

The clip was posted on X, formerly Twitter, by the "Acyn" account, which shares U.S. politics footage and is part of the self-styled "pro-democracy" Meidas Touch news network.

It has received more than 500,000 views along with over 800 reposts and 4,200 likes.

The incident sparked widespread mockery from other social media users, with one writing: "Not gonna lie, Ron DeSantis holding up a map of poop to the secret map of Poop Town was my favorite part of this debate."

A second wrote: "Republicans—they may not have any ideas, they may not be able to lead, they may not be able to govern, they may not be serious humans but they are always ready with a s*** show for the cameras."

A third posted: "lol, so the preparation Ron did was to make print out of poops."

However other X users were more supportive of the Florida governor, with one Los Angeles resident posting: "For those who think poopy SF is a myth, it's 100 percent real. I used to walk to work from Richmond district to downtown and I would see tons of poop everywhere. When I stepped in it by mistake I would throw away my shoes and take an Uber ride home."

Another commented: "This will go down as one of the great moments in the history of presidential debates. Ron came with receipts."

During the debate, DeSantis argued Newsom had failed the residents of California because of "leftist ideology."

He said: "I think California has more natural advantages than any state in the country. You almost have to try to mess California up. Yet, that's what Gavin Newsom has done.

"They have failed because of his leftist ideology. And the choice for America is this. What Biden and [Kamala] Harris and Newsom want to do is take the California model and do that nationally. In Florida we show conservative principles work. This country must choose freedom over failure."

Ron DeSantis speaks in the spin room following a debate held by Fox News, in Alpharetta, Georgia, on November 30, 2023. During the debate DeSantis held up a map showing "human feces that are found on the streets of San Francisco." CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA/AFP/GETTY

Newsom hit back, accusing DeSantis of wanting to undermine civil rights and "light democracy on fire."

The Democrat said: "Ron discusses his record in a Republican state. As a point of contrast, that is different as daylight and darkness. You want to bring us back to the pre-1960s or older, America in reverse. You want to roll back hard-earned national rights on voting rights and civil rights, human rights and women's rights, not just access to abortion, but also access to contraception.

"You want to weaponize grievance, you are focused on false separateness. You in particular run on a banning binge, a cultural purge, intimidating and humiliating people you disagree with. You and [ex-] President Trump are really trying to light democracy on fire."

DeSantis is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination but trails considerably behind Donald Trump, the front-runner, with recent polling suggesting he is now facing a challenge from former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley for second place.

Newsom has been widely touted as a potential future Democratic White House candidate, but is not running in 2024 and has endorsed Joe Biden for a second term.

Speaking to Newsweek, Ray La Raja, co-director of UMass Poll and a professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, warned Newsom could have an "image problem" if he decides to take to the national stage.

He said: "Newsom embodies California in both his style and politics. How will that play with Midwestern voters who are suspicious of San Francisco politicians who hang out in wine country? I don't think DeSantis will have to confront that image problem."

Update 12/1/23, 5:00 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with further details.