DeSantis says his economic policy will stop American dream from ‘slipping away’
Naomi Lim
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CHARITON, Iowa — Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) teased an economic address next week as his presidential campaign seeks to redress his lack of momentum with retail politics and policy announcements.
“It’s harder for people that are just working hard and trying to get the most of their God-given ability to do well, and that’s the American dream slipping away,” DeSantis told reporters Thursday in Chariton, Iowa, after the first stop of his bus tour. “Our policy is going to address that.”
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“At the end of the day, when you’re talking about economic policy, it’s not really about dollars and cents,” he said. “It’s really about what kind of society do you want to have. And for us, we want strong families. We want people to be able to thrive who work hard. We don’t want to have a situation where elites get bailed out or play under different rules than other people. We don’t want an economy where the government is controlling people’s behavior.”
DeSantis’s smaller meet and greet event in Chariton Thursday afternoon came before a walk through the Wayne County Fair in Corydon and a town hall in Osceola; all stops as part of a bus tour organized by super PAC Never Back Down amid his campaign’s strategy reset and restructure. He is scheduled to appear in Albia and Oskaloosa before speaking at the Iowa Republican Party‘s Lincoln Day Dinner in Des Moines on Friday.
The campaign overhaul coincides with DeSantis’s polling decline from an average of 31% in January to 18% on Thursday, according to RealClearPolitics. Former President Donald Trump averages 52%. While DeSantis raised $20.1 million since he announced his bid in May through June 30, two-thirds of the money came from donors who cannot contribute again, and he has already spent $7.9 million of what is in his pot.
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“DeSantis has already made three trips to Iowa since launching his campaign and has participated in 13 different public events in the state,” DeSantis campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo said. “Meanwhile, Trump’s engagement with Iowans can be summed up by headlines like this from the New York Post: ‘Trump to skip second Iowa cattle call after spat with state governor.'”
“No one will outwork Ron DeSantis in the Hawkeye State, and he is just getting started,” he added.