‘He’s Failed the Country’: DeSantis Confident He Could Beat Biden in Potential 2024 Contest

Governor Ron DeSantis (R., Fl.) told Piers Morgan in a recent interview that Joe Biden has “failed the country” and that he could beat the president in a general election should he run.

“If I were to run, I’m running against Biden,” DeSantis told Morgan in an interview scheduled to air Thursday, according to a first-person preview published in the New York Post. “Ultimately you know the guy I’m gonna focus on is Biden because I think he’s failed the country. I think the country wants a change. I think they want a fresh start and a new direction and so we’ll be very vocal about that.”

Asked his thoughts about Trump’s recent attempts at mudslinging, such as deriding him as “Ron DeSanctimonious,” the Florida governor dismissed the insults as “background noise.”

“It’s not important for me to be fighting with people on social media,” DeSantis said. It’s not accomplishing anything for the people I represent. So, we really just focus on knocking out victories, day after day, and if I got involved in all the under tow I would not be able to be an effective Governor. So, I don’t think it’s something that makes sense for me.”

DeSantis recently came to the aid of the former president, who is facing a potential indictment for allegedly paying former adult film star Stormy Daniels hush money ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” DeSantis said on Monday during a press conference. “The Manhattan District Attorney is a Soros-funded prosecutor…That’s an example of pursuing a political agenda and weaponizing the office.”

Asked about the importance of character, DeSantis said Americans should look to the example of the Founding Fathers when deciding who to support.

“At the end of the day as a leader,” the Florida governor said. “You really want to look to people like our Founding Fathers, like what type of character, it’s not saying that you don’t ever make a mistake in your personal life, but I think what type of character are you bringing?”

The war of words amongst Republican presidential hopefuls has intensified in recent weeks with DeSantis often finding himself in the crosshairs.

On Monday, the former Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal taking DeSantis to task for downplaying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “territorial dispute” in a statement to Tucker Carlson.

“They say the U.S. shouldn’t care about Ukraine because this war isn’t our fight. Some call it a mere ‘territorial dispute.’ They say we should ignore Ukraine so we can focus on China. This has it backward. China loses if Ukraine wins,” Haley wrote.

Senators Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) and Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) as well as former vice-president Mike Pence joined in condemning the statements.

“I believe the United States needs to continue to demand the free world join us in giving the courageous fighters in Ukraine the resources they need to repel the Russian invasion,” Pence, who many expect to join the presidential contest shortly, said.

Editor’s Note: This article incorrectly quoted Governor DeSantis as claiming he would “win the presidency.” The quote appeared in a New York Post headline over Piers Morgan’s first-person account of his interview with DeSantis, which airs Thursday. The Post’s headline has since been updated to exclude the quote.

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