Gavin Newsom escalates his feud with GOP governors, says they've been 'doubling down on the stupid'

"Those conservative governors out there, Greg Abbott and others, they're as dumb as they want to be," Newsom said on Tuesday.

• Gavin Newsom called out Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other GOP governors at an event on Tuesday.
• "They're just doubling down on stupid, and we will not follow their path," Newsom said.
• Newsom has been feuding with conservative governors like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, too.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday had some harsh words for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and his fellow GOP governors.

"Those conservative governors out there, Greg Abbott and others, they're as dumb as they want to be," Newsom quipped at an event for the Clinton Global Initiative in New York. "And they're just doubling down on stupid, and we will not follow their path."

Abbott and his conservative ally, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, made headlines last week for transporting migrants out of Texas in protest of President Joe Biden's border policies.

Abbott has played an outsized role in moving migrants from the border to places like Washington, DC, and New York City. NPR in August recorded more than 6,100 migrants being sent from the border to other states.

In a high-profile stunt, two planeloads of migrants were flown from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, a known Democratic enclave. DeSantis' office has taken responsibility for the act, and the affected migrants have filed a federal lawsuit against the Florida governor, alleging that they had been part of a "premeditated, fraudulent, and illegal scheme."

Speculation has swirled that Newsom might look to run in the 2024 presidential election. The California governor's salvo on Tuesday appeared to be the latest in a long-standing feud between him and DeSantis, a possible Republican rival in the next White House race.

Newsom last week challenged DeSantis to a debate on CNN, saying: "I'll bring my hair gel. You bring your hairspray." The California governor also wrote to the Department of Justice, asking it to investigate if the 50 migrants flown to Martha's Vineyard were lured there based on false promises of employment. 

Meanwhile, DeSantis attacked Newsom in July for putting up advertisements in Florida enticing residents to relocate to California. In April, Newsom vowed to donate $100,000 to DeSantis' Democratic opponent, Charlie Crist.