California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) called Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate a “nothingburger.”
“Honestly, more disappointed in it than I was expecting,” Newsom told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow after the event.
But one moment seemed to get his blood boiling: When former Vice President Mike Pence said his solution to mass shootings would be expedited executions for the shooters.
“Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic,” Newsom said. “He’s been saying this now for months. I cringe every time I hear this.”
Newsom said most mass shooters expect to during the shooting.
“What a joke, that that somehow is a deterrent,” he said. “Number one killer of our kids is guns, and that was a solution tonight, that was a debate for the next president of the United States on how to deal with mass shootings? I don’t want to say disqualifying. But honestly, for a former vice president, pathetic.”
Newsom has been outspoken on the need for stronger gun control and just signed a law in California that adds an 11 percent tax to the sale of guns and ammo in the state.
While the federal government also taxes guns and ammo, California is the first state to have its own tax.
See his full discussion with Maddow below: