Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) spoke to voters this week on the Family Leader Forum panel. Taking the stage alongside Vivek Ramaswamy (R) and Ambassador Nikki Haley (R), the three presidential candidates answered policy questions. DeSantis did not hold back in his criticism of President Donald Trump (R), calling him “high risk with low reward.”
According to the latest Iowa poll, Gov. DeSantis is a distant second. Moreover, he is the second choice for Trump voters, and similarly, his voters have listed Trump as their second choice.
Given that he is popular in his state, DeSantis was asked why he wouldn’t wait for “his turn.” In response, DeSantis said “we’re a Republican. It’s not about ‘waiting your turn.’”
He contrasted himself with Trump in several ways. Primarily, DeSantis assured that he has delivered on every promise he made as governor. In contrast, when speaking about Trump on the campaign trail, DeSantis explained that “he’s campaigning on the things he promised in 2016 and didn’t deliver.”
DeSantis assured that Republicans “need someone that’s gonna win” on the ballot, and he doesn’t see Trump as that person.
DeSantis explained that he has gotten rid of Democrat influence in his state, calling the Democrat Party of Florida “a carcass on the side of the road.”
Ultimately, citing that “leadership is not about entertainment,” he urged Republicans to steer clear of catapulting Trump to the nomination.
“I view Donald Trump’s candidacy as high risk with low reward. Because I think as a lame duck with poor personnel and the distractions, it’s going to be hard for him to get this done,” DeSantis captioned a video of his comments on Trump during the Family Leader Forum.
“My candidacy is lower risk – because we’ll run Biden ragged around the country – but high reward. Because you get a two term conservative president who’s going to stand for your values and deliver for you for eight years.”
