Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis candidly admitted Thursday that his biggest regret at this point in the 2024 presidential race is that he didn't appear more in the “corporate” media early on.
“The media has a lot to do with the presidential campaign,'' DeSantis said. He told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.. “You know, I spent a lot of time on the ground in Iowa, which is good. And when you meet people, you convert them. But there's a lot of work to be done in the world. I joined the company without doing much media work, even though there are a lot of voters to do.
“I wish I had covered myself with a blanket,” the 45-year-old added. “I should have been to all the corporate shows. I should have done them all.”
Mr. DeSantis famously launched his bid for the White House with a Twitter Space event in May of this year, but there were audio problems that made it difficult to hear what the governor was saying.
The candidate told Hewitt that he has increased his number of traditional media appearances by the “late summer” of 2023. A wider range of people. ”
The Florida governor said last month that the 77-year-old Trump's string of legal problems was his biggest regret in the campaign, saying the four criminal cases against the 45th president “skewed the primary” on the Christian Broadcasting Network. He told host David Brody.
Mr. DeSantis finished second in the Iowa caucuses on Monday with a nearly 30-point lead over Mr. Trump.
“Obviously, if you can win Iowa State as well as he did, that's what you want to do if you're going to get the pick,” Hewitt told Hewitt on Thursday. “But you know, half of Iowans voted for someone else.
“And the turnout was so terrible. I don't think it was just the weather,” DeSantis added. “I've been there. Look, I'm a Florida guy. I never get sub-zero temperatures, so I was just trudging through it. I get it, I get why it affects me. But if you look, 110,000 people participated. In 2016, 186,000 people voted. But 20,000 were independents, 7,000 were Democrats, and most of them voted partisan. Did. [Nikki] Haley came.That means there were fewer than about 85,000 Republicans. [who] also participated.
“I think this is a warning sign for the party going into the fall.”
Despite losing in Iowa and polling showing DeSantis in the single digits in New Hampshire and third in South Carolina behind Trump and Haley, the Florida native He said he sees a path to the Republican nomination.
“If we had won against Iowa, we would have been in a great position,” he said. “You know, coming second gives you a ticket to continue…I don't want to be vice president, I don't want to be a cabinet member. I don't need a TV show. I'm going to do everything I can to win. I am doing my best…This is not vanity for me.
When Mr. Hewitt asked if he could continue campaigning until the end of March, when presidential primaries and caucuses are held in most states, Mr. DeSantis replied: we can do it. “
After Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, the Republican nominating calendar continues with the Nevada caucuses on February 8th and the South Carolina primary on February 24th.
