In Iowa, Ron DeSantis criticizes polls, says he'd succeed as GOP's presidential nominee
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MUSCATINE, Iowa — Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis questioned the integrity of polls when asked by a caucusgoer over Veterans Day weekend in Iowa how he plans to improve his standing and win.
But people at the event in Muscatine on Saturday — including the person who asked the question — said they need to hear more from DeSantis before he gets their support. Spence Brown, of Muscatine, told DeSantis at a meet and greet in the lobby of the Kent Corp. in Muscatine that he's leaning toward supporting him but needed to see DeSantis' heart come across more.
Brown said other people do, too, given his position in polls.
More: Donald Trump builds on big lead as Nikki Haley pulls even with Ron DeSantis in Iowa Poll
DeSantis and every other GOP presidential candidate are behind former President Donald Trump by a wide margin. And while support for former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley has risen, it's slipped for DeSantis. They are now tied for a distant second place among likely Republican caucusgoers in the most recent Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll.
The Iowa Poll is widely considered to be the gold standard of polling and receives an A+ from FiveThirtyEight’s pollster ratings.
DeSantis told people in the crowd at Muscatine to be skeptical of polls. He said he's focused on winning the Iowa Caucus by being a candidate who shows up and meets people, not "juicing a poll."
"Some of this stuff is so fraudulent when you look at it," he said, accusing media outlets of not wanting to release polls if the results are in his favor. "They want Trump to be the candidate, for their reasons," DeSantis said.
"I've never seen the obsession with these polls before. It's like they report that it's ... actually functional news. And a lot of people pay for these things," DeSantis added.
He did not name any specific poll but did describe poll results for his recent reelection to lead Florida that he said did not ultimately match his victory there.
"We've shown an ability to move and I think in Florida — Florida is a microcosm of this country," DeSantis said.
"I think Florida, Texas, Georgia, Arizona, those states will be great for us and then we'll battle out those other states, but we're going to get the job done," DeSantis added.
Brown told the Register after the event of DeSantis' response: "I don't think he answered the question. Trump's very far ahead, so the polls are not that far off."
He said DeSantis is "so far behind he needs to do something different."
His advice to DeSantis was to talk about "his vision to return the country to a more constitutional republic."
"He comes across as a manager. I love that. He's very capable. But he's not showing his heart enough and he's not painting the vision you want to walk into," Brown said.
Meanwhile, Steve Kallenberger, of Muscatine, said he's a past Trump supporter who's currently undecided.
Kallenberger liked what DeSantis had to say Saturday. But given that it was Veterans Day, he wanted to hear more from DeSantis on the military and how he would "make us the superpower that we once were," given what he said were shortages of ammunition and too much focus in the military on being politically correct.
"Let's stop worrying about all these little skirmishes and getting our military spread out," Kallenberger said. He added that he completely backs Israel — which is currently at war with the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip — but does not want to see any American troops sent to the war.
DeSantis once again in Muscatine expressed his support for Israel and skepticism over U.S. aid to Ukraine in its defense against Russia. He criticized "sending billions of dollars to pay pensions for Ukrainian bureaucrats and their salaries."
"Obviously, I think that Russia is hostile to the United States. I also think Russia is more of a threat to Europe than they are to us. But you hear some of these other Republicans acting like this is like 'Freedom and democracy hangs in the balance,'" DeSantis said. "I mean, Ukraine, they've got rampant corruption. Just be honest about that."
On DeSantis' chances for getting the Republican presidential nomination, Kallenberger said they're "average."
"From people I talk to — conservatives, they're Republican supporters, of course — it's almost like it's either a Trump or no-Trump, it's either Trump or nobody," he said. "It doesn't even seem like they're actually taking the time to listen to the other people."
Phillip Sitter focuses on covering growth and development in the western metro suburbs for the Des Moines Register. Phillip can be reached via email at psitter@gannett.com. He is on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @pslifeisabeauty.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: In Iowa, Ron DeSantis criticizes poll results showing him distant 2nd
