DeSantis says ‘juvenile’ attacks kept Trump from returning to White House
Rachel Schilke
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Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) believes that former President Donald Trump‘s “juvenile” attacks toward him and others cost the former president the White House in 2020.
Desantis, now a 2024 presidential candidate, spoke about Trump’s constant mudslinging toward him in a Thursday interview with Good Morning New Hampshire. Since the former president announced his campaign in November, he set his sights on DeSantis, who is his leading contender for the Republican primary.
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Trump has taken aim at everything from DeSantis’s name, calling him Ron “DeSanctimonious,” to his weight and appearance. However, DeSantis said he “doesn’t get in the gutter” from any of those comments.
“I think it’s so petty. I think it’s so juvenile. I don’t think that’s what voters want,” DeSantis said when asked about his reaction to Trump’s attacks. “And honestly, I think that his conduct — which he’s been doing for years now — I think that’s one of the reasons he’s not in the White House now, because I think he alienated too many voters, for things that really don’t matter.”
He added that voters want to see discussions filled with debate on real issues, not mudslinging.
“I think that the substance — people want to see the substantive debate. I think that’s totally legitimate. But the juvenile name calling and all that stuff, that’s not the way I roll,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis avoids openly criticizing Trump as a person but does not hesitate to call attention to the differences between himself and the former president, especially when it comes to topics such as COVID-19, education, and immigration. The Florida governor also touted his victory in the 2022 midterm elections, when he received 59.4% of the vote, thanks to support from Republicans and independent voters.
“No governor was bolder on policy and accomplishments than I was in Florida,” DeSantis said. “I won almost 60% of the vote in a swing state. You don’t do that by alienating people — you do that by attracting people who want to share your vision and appreciate the accomplishments and the results that you’ve delivered for them.”
DeSantis pointed to the importance of independent voters, who could be the key to his success heading into 2024.
“I don’t care what they say about me in terms of name-calling. Although, you know, I would say you need to call me a winner because we’ve won in Florida over and over again,” DeSantis said. “I don’t care about any of that. But I think it is a distraction. And I think it turns off the voters.”
“How are we going to be able to win independent voters in New Hampshire and other key states if we’re going to be engaged in that type of back and forth? I think the voters are sick of it. I think they want to hear about the problems facing the country and how you can deliver results for them.”
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DeSantis is trailing Trump in several polls. A May 12-14 Morning Consult poll of potential Republican primary voters found the former president’s share of support among GOP voters at 61%, with DeSantis trailing in second place at 18%. A Quinnipiac University national poll from May 24 found that Trump received 65% of the vote compared to DeSantis’s 25%.
Trump and DeSantis are also facing former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC), former Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR), entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) for the GOP nomination. Former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ), former Vice President Mike Pence, and current Govs. Chris Sununu (R-NH) and Doug Burgum (R-ND) are expected to announce their candidacies for president in the coming weeks.