Despite recently facing a recall election and despite his state suffering from an alarming crime wave, California governor Gavin Newsom was cheered and celebrated while appearing on Wednesday’s The View.

To make matters worse, the ABC hosts begged him to run for president, and even thanked him for bashing Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis (to deflect criticism away from his own leadership failures).

The interview was relatively short and Newsom was tossed softballs about his coronavirus policies to start off. The hosts eagerly agreed with his boasting that California was leading the way with vaccinations and booster shots and “following the science” on tackling the Omicron variant. While touting the California way, Newsom went out of his way to criticize Florida.