As California's Democratic governor Gavin Newsom battled his Florida Republican counterpart Ron DeSantis on stage, behind the scenes there was a different battle brewing — and Newsom's wife reportedly had to step in to end both.
Newsom and DeSantis sparred about a range of topics on Thursday, with the former at one point ignoring the latter and speaking to the American people because DeSantis was "talking over him."
Now that the debate is over, sources are speaking to NBC News about what went on behind the scenes and how Newsom's wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, reportedly came to intervene and stop the debate after DeSantis mentioned her parents.
"According to four sources in the DeSantis camp — one who witnessed the moment in the room and three others who were standing backstage (where there was no press or live studio audience) — Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, came into the debate room on at least two occasions to raise some objections," the outlet reported.
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"She also made her way to the stage during the break after the candidates agreed to extend the debate and put an end to it."
NBC had another source who added more details:
"A fifth source on the ground, unaffiliated with either campaign, confirmed that Siebel Newsom ended the debate on her husband’s behalf, saying, 'We’re done,'" according to the news report.
According to the report, the reason was that DeSantis said on stage that Siebel Newsom's parents moved to Florida because it had a better governor.
"One of Siebel Newsom's complaints centered around DeSantis’ mention of her father. DeSantis claimed that he told him he moved from California to Florida because it was better governed," the report says.
But not everyone agrees on what happened.
"A Newsom aide denied that Siebel Newsom was the reason the debate ended and said that the decision not to keep going with the debate was mutual, saying that staffers from both teams complained to producers when Hannity tried to extend it."