Voter Confronts Ron DeSantis Over Trump: ‘Why Haven’t You Gone Directly After Him?’
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
A voter in Iowa pressed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over his approach toward Republican rival and former President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
“Why haven’t you gone directly after him?” asked the man, who pointed to the GOP presidential candidate’s poll numbers compared to Trump.
“What do you mean by going directly after?” replied DeSantis.
“In my viewpoint, you’re going pretty soft on him ―,” the man added.
“I’ve articulated all the differences time and time again on the campaign trail,” interjected DeSantis before claiming the media wants GOP candidates to “smear him personally,” before adding, “That’s just not how I roll.”
The man, in response, declared that Trump would have won the 2020 presidential election by “a landslide” if he had “kept his mouth shut” while he was president.
“He’s been his own worst enemy, there’s no question about that,” DeSantis replied.
The man noted Trump’s insults toward former GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina and late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
“I mean, those are talking points that I would use. I mean the guy has no class in a lot of different ways,” the man said.
You can watch the exchange in the clip below from The Washington Post’s Hannah Knowles.
DeSantis responds in Waukee, Iowa to a voter who argues he should go harder at Trump. pic.twitter.com/h3acvOkq9u
— Hannah Knowles (@KnowlesHannah) January 3, 2024
The man, ABC News identified as 75-year-old Christopher Garcia, who voted for Trump in 2016 and again in 2020 ― later remarked on DeSantis’ “vague” criticism toward his GOP rival in an interview with The New York Times.
“Are these people afraid to take Trump head-on? I mean, is that the problem?” Garcia asked of the GOP field.
The Florida governor, who once steered clear of attacking Trump, has taken an occasionalswipe at the former president in recent months.
The exchange comes as Trump continues to lead DeSantis, according to FiveThirtyEight, by over 49 percentage points on average in national polls.
