The war of words between California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is elevating after the former claimed that his is “the real freedom state.”

In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, DeSantis discussed the fact that California is losing roughly 1,000 residents each day, while Florida is gaining almost 1,000 per day, a difference that can largely be attributed to the stark contrasts between how the two states are governed.

“Florida, we’re not a sanctuary state,” DeSantis said. “When I became governor, we were able to ban sanctuary cities. The rule of law is important. And so, of course, we’re not going to recognize lawless identifications that are done by California.

“California, they have abandoned the rule of law,” DeSantis noted further. “They are a sanctuary state. They don’t follow federal immigration laws. And, of course, the Soros prosecutors, they pick and choose which laws to enforce. There will be people in Los Angeles who will get mugged, Sean, on the street, and the prosecutor won’t bring charges against these guys, and they end up going out, and they victimize other people.

“So, I think public safety is incredibly important,” he added. “And when you abandon the rule of law, you end up getting a lot of the results that they have had in California, and people respond by fleeing the jurisdiction.”

WATCH:

"The rule of law is important… But in California, these Soros prosecutors pick and choose which laws to enforce. People respond by fleeing the jurisdiction."

– Governor @RonDeSantisFL to @seanhannity on the eve of the State of the State Address in Tallahassee 👇👀 pic.twitter.com/PIxGkrAWKH

— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) March 7, 2023

Here’s a partial transcript:

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: Let me ask you about this battle with Gavin Newsom. He actually said these words: “Welcome to the real freedom state, California.”

That’s what he said. You responded by saying that, well, great, Gavin. Your state is hemorrhaging population to my state of Florida. You have gone out there on the record and said that — that your immigration plan would invalidate Governor Newsom I.D. for illegal immigrants. Newsom shot that Ron DeSantis is using migrants as pawns.

Isn’t he — aren’t sanctuary states — are they aiding and abetting lawbreaking? Isn’t it still against the law to enter this country without proper permission?

RON DESANTIS, GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA: Of course.

And Florida, we’re not a sanctuary state. When I became governor, we were able to ban sanctuary cities. The rule of law is important. And so, of course, we’re not going to recognize lawless identifications that are done by California.

And California, they have abandoned the rule of law. They are a sanctuary state. They don’t follow federal immigration laws. And, of course, the Soros prosecutors, they pick and choose which laws to enforce. There will be people in Los Angeles who will get mugged, Sean, on the street and the prosecutor won’t bring charges against these guys, and they end up going out and they victimize other people.

So, I think public safety is incredibly important. And when you abandon the rule of law, you end up getting a lot of the results that they have had in California, and people respond by fleeing the jurisdiction.