Iowa voters on Wednesday questioned Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis about why he isn't directly “going after” former President Trump, citing DeSantis' declining poll numbers.
a voter asked DeSantis during a campaign audience in Waukee, Iowa, on Wednesday. [Trump]? Your voting results are down. He’s really awake—”
Florida Governor DeSantis also weighed in. “What do you mean by going right after?”
“From my perspective, you're being pretty soft on him,” the voter responded.
“I have articulated all the differences many times during my campaign,” DeSantis countered. “…there's just a story…I think the story is this. What the media wants is for the Republican candidate to smear him personally. That's my It’s not how you do it.”
Voters punctuated with multiple “no's” to indicate this was not what he had suggested, before pointing out President Trump's criticism of Carly Fiorina, whom he once called a horse face.
“I mean, guys. [Trump] Classless in many ways,” the voter said.
Washington Post reporter Hannah Knowles filmed the exchange and posted the following: video Content of conversation with X (formerly Twitter).
Mr. DeSantis, along with several of his rivals in the Republican primary, has faced criticism for what some perceive as not being enough attacks on Mr. Trump, who continues to enjoy a comfortable lead in Republican primary polls.
Mr. DeSantis has struggled to significantly narrow Mr. Trump's lead, and his No. 2 position in the race has recently been threatened by the rise of former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.
According to The Hill/Decision Desk polling index, Trump received an estimated 64.1% of the vote in the national Republican primary, leading by nearly 53 points over Haley's 11.3% and DeSantis' 11%. is not even close to that.
In terms of public opinion polls for the general election, President Trump and President Biden remain virtually in a close race, but some recent polls show President Trump with a slight lead. The Hill/Decision Desk polling index shows Mr. Trump trailing Mr. Biden by 1.2 percentage points (44.1% to 43.1%).
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