DeSantis Decides it's Time to 'Counterpunch' Against Trump Attacks

DeSantis Decides it's Time to 'Counterpunch' Against Trump Attacks

The Florida Governor is no longer looking to Rope-a-Dope.

Jackson Bakich
Jackson Bakich
|
May 31, 2023

After months of not responding to former President Donald Trump’s (R) attacks, Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) now believes that it is time to finally swing back.

While kicking off his bid for the White House in Iowa, Gov. DeSantis was asked about how he plans to change his tone and whether he would be more aggressive when it comes to campaigning against President Trump.

Before he declared his candidacy on Twitter Spaces with Elon Musk, Gov. DeSantis refrained from directly acknowledging Trump.

However, now that he is officially in the race, “America’s Governor” has decided that it’s time to “respond to attacks.”

“So, look, I’m going to respond to attacks. If you say Cuomo did a better job with COVID than Florida did, first of all, that’s not what he used to say. This is new, like six months ago, he would have never said that. He used to say how great Florida was. Hell, his whole family moved to Florida under my governorship, are you kidding me?” stated DeSantis.

DeSantis stayed on the topic of Trump calling Cuomo’s COVID performance as governor better than Florida’s, saying that the former President should focus his attention on Biden.

“If someone is saying that I am going to counterpunch. I’m going to fight back on it. I’m going to focus my fire on Biden, and I think he should do the same. He gives Biden a free pass. I’m focusing on Biden.”

Recent data from Real Clear Politics showcased that Gov. DeSantis improved his poll numbers by six percent before he announced his bid for President on May 24th.

However, he still trails former President Donald Trump (R) by 16 points. But those numbers are expected to rise in favor of the Florida Governor.

Responses from Team DeSantis reflect this growing optimism, with Press Secretary Bryan Griffin stating because the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. spent more money attacking DeSantis than it did to boost candidates in the 2022 midterms, DeSantis is the "greatest threat" to Trump's reelection campaign.

"These are the largest ongoing expenditures against a non-candidate in Republican primary history, and that’s all you need to know to draw the obvious conclusion. Ron DeSantis presents the greatest threat to Donald Trump," said Griffin.

The two candidates are expected to face off for the first time in August in Milwaukee at the first Republican primary debate.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Related Posts

Jackson Bakich

Jackson Bakich

Born in Orlando but raised in Lake County, Florida, Jackson Bakich is currently a senior at Florida State University. Growing up in the sunshine state, Bakich co-hosted the political talk radio show "Lake County Roundtable" (WLBE) and was a frequent guest for "Lake County Sports Show" (WQBQ). Currently, he is the Sports Editor of the FSView and the co-host of "Tomahawk Talk" (WVFS), a sports talk radio program covering Florida State athletics in Tallahassee.

Subscribe to the newsletter everyone in Florida is reading.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Sign up for BREAKING NEWS ALERTS

Thank you for your interest in receiving the The Floridian newsletter. To subscribe, please submit your email address below.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.