The ongoing changes in climate must have finally caused hell to freeze over. At first, it was thought of as a fluke: CNN inviting bogeyman Donald Trump for a 2024 Townhall. But now, the network has hosted Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for a sit-down with Jake Tapper to discuss his flailing campaign. One might surmise this is not the best audience for a GOP presidential candidate -- but it couldn’t hurt the network’s ratings.
Did DeSantis get his mojo back under the watchful eye of Tapper? Let’s just say his talk with a Democratic-bent audience might bolster his campaign a notch or two.
Before he huddled with Tapper, he happily tweeted: “Today I officially filed the paperwork to be on the ballot in the Republican Presidential primary in South Carolina.”
Ready to Rumble
Critics say DeSantis is a bit boring on the campaign trail, shirking crowds and gravitating to multi-media groups such as Newsmax and Fox News to get his message out. But the good governor still trails Trump by double digits (a minimum of 20 points) in the latest pulse check polls, and his strategy is changing to be less like number 45 and more like a number 47.
The interview came on the heels of Trump slamming another Department of Justice investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Tapper, right out of the gate, asked what DeSantis thought. It seemed the interviewer didn’t get the answer he hoped for: “I want to focus on looking forward. I don’t want to look back,” DeSantis said. “I do not want to see him – I hope he doesn’t get charged. I don’t think it’ll be good for the country. But at the same time, I’ve got to focus on looking forward, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Tapper wanted to know if the rumblings that Republican voters see DeSantis as “less and less electable” are affecting his new campaign style. He responded, “I don’t believe that. The proof is in the pudding.” The governor reminded viewers that he took Florida by a 20-point margin. “They’ve been saying that I’ve been doing poorly for my whole time as governor, basically,” he continued.
Ron DeSantis (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Comparisons to Trump kept seeping into the interview, but DeSantis managed to stay calm and relaxed when other Republicans tend to be brash and blustery -- a kind of tit-for-tat that only Trump knows how to employ successfully.
Foreign Policy?
DeSantis recently released his ideas about foreign policy, and, like most Republicans, he is not a fan of US involvement in aiding Ukraine in the war with Russia. The presidential hopeful was light on policy and repeated his mantra that the war is a “territorial dispute” not of “vital” interest to the United States. He went a bit further: “The goal should be a sustainable, enduring peace in Europe, but one that does not reward aggression.” DeSantis then pivoted, saying our focus should be on Asia and China.
“I am not going to diminish our stocks and not send (them) to Taiwan. I’m not going to make us less capable to respond to exigencies.”
DeSantis Domestic Problems
Tapper probed the candidate on controversial issues like the heartbeat abortion bill in his state of Florida. The six-week ban put a target on his back with progressives, while evangelical types praised it. DeSantis brushed off the notion that suburban moms would not support him, reminding Tapper that he won Florida as all this was happening in real time.
“Our bread and butter were people like suburban moms. We’re leading a big movement for parents’ rights, to have the parents be involved in education, school choice, get the indoctrination out of schools.” DeSantis continued:
“I’m pro-life. I will be a pro-life president. And we will support pro-life policies. At the same time, I look at what’s going on in the Congress, and, you know, I don’t see them, you know, making very much headway. I think the danger from Congress is if we lose the election, they’re going to try to nationalize abortion up until the moment of birth.”
Takeaways
DeSantis has a national stage presence. His aggressive stances on what he defines as woke resonate with most conservatives. With more problems on the horizon for Trump, the governor may just be the last man standing when the primary-season dust finally settles.
The governor described his quest: “A lot of people view me as a threat. I think the left views me as a threat because they think I will beat Biden and deliver on all of this stuff, and of course, people who have their allegiances on the Republican side have gone after me. But the reality is, this is a state-by-state process.”
Well, he does have Florida.
