Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis cast himself as a pragmatic leader whose no-nonsense style could propel him to the White House, dismissing former President Trump’s recent criticism as nothing more than “background noise” that isn’t worth it to be busy with.
The comments came during an extended interview with Piers Morgan, another frequent target of Trump’s ridicule, which airs Thursday on Fox Nation.
“In terms of my approach to leadership, I get staff in government who have the people’s agenda and share our agenda. If you bring your own agenda, you’re out. We’re just not going to have that,” DeSantis said. , as Morgan explained in a preview of the interview in the New York Post.
“So the way we run the government I don’t think is a day-to-day drama, focus on the big picture and put points on the board and I think that’s something very important.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at a Freedom Blueprint event in Des Moines, Iowa, USA, on Friday, March 10, 2023. (Kathryn Gamble/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The interview took place Monday, just hours after DeSantis in New York filed a possible suit against Trump over hush money payments the former president allegedly made to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.
DeSantis slammed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg as a “Soros-funded district attorney” who is “pursuing a political agenda and weaponizing the office,” but also took a subtle shot at Trump for the actions underlying to potential legal problems.
“I don’t know what’s involved in paying a porn star hush money to keep quiet about some alleged affair — I just can’t argue with that,” DeSantis said at a press conference earlier Monday.
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DeSantis doubled down on those comments in the interview with Morgan.
“Well, there’s a lot of speculation about what the underlying behavior is. It would be, and the reality is it’s just outside my wheelhouse,” DeSantis told Morgan. “I mean, that’s just not something I can talk to.”
Former President Donald Trump boards his plane, known as Trump Force One, bound for Iowa at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, FL on Monday, March 13, 2023. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Florida’s governor, who has yet to announce his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election but told Morgan to “stay tuned,” also said that “truth is essential” and that personal integrity is important to anyone in a position of power.
“Eventually as a leader,” DeSantis told Morgan. “You really want to look at people like our Founding Fathers, like what type of character, it’s not saying you never make a mistake in your personal life, but I think what kind of character do you bring? So, someone who really set the standard , is George Washington, because he always put the Republic before his own personal interest. When we won the American Revolution, Washington surrendered his sword.”
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Trump took to TRUTH Social to criticize DeSantis after the initial comments at Monday’s press conference.
“Ron DeSanctimonious will likely find out about FALSE ALLEGATIONS & FALSE STORY sometime in the future, as he gets older, wiser and better known, when he is unfairly and illegally assaulted by a woman, even classmates who are ‘underage’ (or possibly a man !),” Trump posted, referring to unsubstantiated claims about DeSantis. “I’m sure he wants to fight these misfits just like me!”
Former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at a rally for the 2020 election. (Jayme Gershen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
DeSantis dismissed the swear words as “background noise,” telling Morgan that it’s “not important to me to fight people on social media.
“I don’t know how to spell sanctimonious. I don’t really know what it means, but I like it. It’s long, it has a lot of vowels. We’re okay with that, that’s fine,” DeSantis told Morgan.
“I mean, you can call me whatever you want as long as you call me a winner too, because that’s what we’ve been able to do in Florida, put a lot of points on the board and really take this state to the next level. “
Others in the former president’s orbit on Tuesday criticized DeSantis for doubling down on Trump’s criticism, with Donald Trump Jr. tweeted that DeSantis is “running to the liberal media on orders from the owners of his RINO establishment to assault my father.”
Taylor Budowich, a former Trump spokesman who now runs a super-PAC backing his 2024 bid, tweeted Tuesday that “DeSantis chooses to leave half tense and take pictures on some cheesy vlog.”
“DeSantis’s terrible political instincts are reflected in all public polls as he burns out faster than (Piers Morgan’s) ratings,” Budowich tweeted.
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Trump has recently gained ground over DeSantis among Republicans, according to a Monmouth University poll released Tuesday that found 41% of GOP voters would like Trump as the 2024 nominee and 27% for DeSantis. The two tied at 33% in February, while DeSantis held a 13% lead in December.
Paul Best is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @KincaidBest.
