Florida Governor Ron DeSantis singles out corporate media for his deflated campaign, claiming they’ve targeted him.
“They’re going after me,” DeSantis told Fox News during an interview. “If you look at the people like the corporate media, who are they going after? Who do they not want to be the nominee?”
DeSantis has done his best to get back the momentum he enjoyed shortly after winning his re-election in Florida last year. He’s had some well-received visits in both Iowa in New Hampshire and decided to tack hard to former President Donald J. Trump’s right.
First, before announcing his campaign, DeSantis signed a six week abortion ban. Notably, he signed it at 11pm on a Friday — wanting to avoid serious press coverage for fear that he’d be seen as a weaker general election candidate. But, post announcement, he claimed he was “proud to sign that bill,” realizing that he has to distinguish himself from Trump.
DeSantis then took Trump to task, interestingly enough, on immigration in a media interview where he was flown over the border — pointing out Trump’s unfinished wall. DeSantis also bragged about Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador encouraging Mexicans in the United States not to vote for DeSantis. The Florida governor alleged Obrador knows he will be held accountable and that the cartels will weaken under a DeSantis presidency. In reality, Obrador maintained a very positive and productive working relationship with Trump.
But, notice the hypocrisy here. Bragging about Obrador’s comments to the media? Flying over the borderland with Fox News? DeSantis is trying to use corporate media to help his blast out his message. Then, he pivots and blames them for his lackluster campaign.
Ironically, DeSantis’ candidacy only helps Trump win the general election. Polls have Trump on average, about 25 points ahead of the second place finisher. DeSantis is making Trump look more liberal than he really is, which will help Trump immensely when it comes time to battle Biden.
To make matters worse, DeSantis’ own team publicly acknowledges that Trump is the “runaway frontrunner.” “I believe in being really blunt and really honest. It’s an uphill battle,” DeSantis spokesman Steve Cortes said in a Twitter Spaces conversation. He went on to say that DeSantis will change many minds after the debate, but it’s entirely possible that Trump skips the whole affair altogether.
And the final nail in the coffin for DeSantis? It might not be Trump at all. Vivek Ramaswamy is polling in a strong third place position according to a new Echelon Insights poll. Instead of going hard right on social issues, Ramaswamy garnered some attention for wanting to abolish the Department of Education and making conservative economics the centerpiece of his campaign. Alarmingly for DeSantis, the poll puts Ramaswamy just six points behind the Florida Governor.
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