Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis responded to former President Donald Trump’s criticism for the first time Tuesday during a press conference, dismissing his attacks as “just noise” before adding that he would “just tell people to check out the scoreboard last Tuesday night.”
“One of the things that I’ve learned in this job, when you’re leading, when you are getting things done, yeah, you take incoming fire. That’s just the nature of it,” DeSantis said in Fort Walton Beach.
“We’ve focused on results and leadership. And you know at the end of the day, I would just tell people to check out the scoreboard last Tuesday night,” he added.
The comments mark the first time DeSantis has publicly addressed the results of the midterms since election night when his 19-point victory in Florida stood out as a rare bright spot for Republicans. In the past week, DeSantis had largely avoided situations where he could face questions about Trump or his future political ambitions.
In the weeks leading up to the election, DeSantis declined to engage with Trump’s increasing hostilities and has generally dismissed any talk about potentially running for president in 2024 as premature. But his remarks Tuesday offered an early indication of how DeSantis could frame a head-to-head campaign against Trump if he decides to run for the Republican nomination.
The Florida governor acknowledged that while there were some success stories during the midterm election, he said there were also many disappointments.
“I mean, that’s just the reality. It was a hugely underwhelming disappointing performance, especially given that Biden’s policies are overwhelmingly unpopular,” DeSantis said. “People think the country is going in the wrong direction. “
After touting his accomplishments in the state, DeSantis added, “And so Florida, I think really shows the blueprint of what you can do to not only win but really fundamentally change the overall political terrain in a very strong pro-freedom direction. And that’s what we’ve done here.”
Source: www.cnn.com