Former President Trump mocked an interview in which his rival Republican presidential candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, followed up on the results of the recent Iowa caucuses.
“Ron DeSanctimonius short-circuited in the face of the fact that he didn't win a single county in Iowa.” Posted by Trump on Saturday to his Truth Social site.
Trump easily won 98 of Iowa's 99 counties on Monday in the first test of the 2024 election season. Fellow Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley defeated Trump by one vote in one county, preventing him from taking the state outright.
In a recent interview with Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto, DeSantis discussed the results and pushed back on claims that his campaign in the state was a failure.
DeSantis placed second overall in the Iowa caucuses after investing heavily in the Hawkeye State and visiting all 99 counties during his campaign.
“As you can see in Iowa, we did it right. I mean, we got the governor's support and we won the debate,” DeSantis said on the broadcast. “We televised City Hall and there was a huge response.”
Kabuto interjected, saying that despite all that DeSantis has done, “he hasn't won a single one,” referring to the Iowa counties.
“But I was also thinking, I mean, how many people are going to be able to handle $50 million in advertising, how many people are going to be able to handle all the headwinds? We're having a very difficult time. It was a tough battle, but we dug in, executed, ran hard, and got a good result.”
Now, Trump, DeSantis, and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley will face off in this year's next election, the New Hampshire primary on January 23. Mr. Trump leads the pack, according to Hill/Decision Desk Headquarters polling averages.
Trump's approval rating is 45.6%, but Haley is second at 35%, and DeSantis is far behind at 5.8%.
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