Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said the conservative media and the indictments of former President Trump are both working to prevent the GOP from moving on from Trump.
DeSantis made the remarks in an interview made public on Monday — but conducted before he dropped out of the GOP presidential primary on Sunday.
“Well, I think there’s two things,” DeSantis said when asked on “New Hampshire Today with Chris Ryan” why the GOP won’t move on from Trump.
“I mean, one, you saw the increase in his support when he had the indictment, and every subsequent indictment seems to get a little bit more support. You can track that very — it’s a very clear correlation,” DeSantis said.
“I think the other thing is you know, he’s got a phalanx of favorable media. Any center-right-leaning media has really rallied behind him,” he added.
DeSantis dropped out of the race on Sunday and endorsed the former president. It concluded a primary campaign that started with promise for the Florida governor but ended with disappointment.
In the interview, DeSantis slammed Trump for running a “basement campaign” when asked how he or former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley could “change the trajectory” of Trump’s strong lead in the polls.
“I mean, I think that the reality is, is this is a guy that has not been willing to debate. He’s not been willing to answer questions from voters. He’s basically run a basement campaign. And so far, he’s gotten away with it because I think he hasn’t been, been hit by the media for it,” DeSantis said.
He also defended his decision to run for the 2024 nomination instead of waiting for the 2028 presidential race.
“You got to run,” he said. “I mean, the country is at a crossroads. I don’t think Trump is likely to win. I don’t think he’s likely to bring about the changes that we need so this country gets on a better course, especially as a lame duck. He’d be a lame-duck president on day one.”
Despite attacking Trump in the recent interview, DeSantis signaled his support for the former president in his video message announcing he was suspending his campaign on Sunday.
“I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee, and I will honor that pledge. He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear. A repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents,” DeSantis said.
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