While the House has been thrown into chaos as eight Republicans joined all Democrats in ousting Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is looking to highlight his strengths to show what productive governing looks like.
On Thursday, the DeSantis War Room posted video that began with highlighting the headlines and commentary that have come since Tuesday's ouster, including how "the Republican Party today just can't govern" and "has become the party that lacks discipline."
Included in the video is a warning from DeSantis himself, who warned while speaking to Fox News' Neil Cavuto that he's seen "a lack of leadership" as well as "a lot of political theater and performative stuff where people are fundraising or whatnot," in response to some of the eight Republican members having done just that.
The video also includes footage from DeSantis' performance during last week's second RNC debate in which he declared "I watch these guys in Washington D.C., and they don’t care about the American people. They don’t care about the fentanyl deaths. They don’t care about the communities being overrun because of this border. They don’t care about the Mexican drug cartels."
"When I get in there, we'll provide the leadership. We're not going to provide chaos and drama, we're just going to provide an agenda that we can get done and turn the country around," DeSantis also told Cavuto.
DC politicians cannot govern.
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) October 5, 2023
All we see is chaos and political theater — with a total lack of leadership.@RonDeSantis will bring his PROVEN LEADERSHIP so that we can start delivering RESULTS. pic.twitter.com/60Ymz2vY9f
DeSantis isn't the only Republican presidential candidate looking to make headlines while the House looks to pick a new speaker. Former and potentially future President Donald Trump may be interested in becoming speaker, and is reportedly "expected" to attend Tuesday's House Republican meeting.
DeSantis himself spoke with Hugh Hewitt on Wednesday morning to discuss McCarthy's ouster, during which he emphasized the "chaos" in D.C. while also pointing to how he's governed Florida in contrast.
"Well, it's a strong contrast to how we do business in Florida. I think you see a lot of theater, a lot of chaos; I'm not sure it ever leads to any results," DeSantis offered when asked for his reaction to start off the interview. "Whereas in Florida, everything we do is calculated to deliver outcomes and to create a better life for the people down here," he continued.
DeSantis also highlighted the difference in the 2022 elections at the federal level when it comes to that red wave never materializing, and how he was reelected as governor by almost 20 points last November. "I also think, just reflecting on, you had like, what five or six members, Republicans joined all these Democrats, you know, we were supposed to have a red wave in 2022 and that didn't happen. It happened in Florida, and we delivered four additional Republicans, but that was one of the best environments to run in for Republicans, probably since like the 1940s, and we totally muffed it. And I think that this is part of the follow on from that," DeSantis added.
He had mentioned the 2022 elections in response to a question last month about McCarthy supporting Trump while also adding DeSantis is "not at the same level as President Trump in any shape or form," as Townhall covered at the time.
The governor stressed the need for proper leadership to Hewitt, noting "but we just need leadership. I mean, we need to put leaders out there, deliver for the folks that we represent. So, I think that we need order, we need smooth government operations, and we need to deliver results. That's what we've
While the House took 15 rounds to pick a Speaker of the House, finally selecting McCarthy in the early morning hours of January 7, DeSantis was inaugurated in Tallahassee for his second term as Florida's governor. "In DC and Tallahassee, a split-screen moment for the Republican Party," read Byron York's headline on January 4 for the Washington Examiner.
The Washington Examiner also highlighted examples of the productiveness of that legislative session in early May, weeks before DeSantis officially launched his campaign.
A display of such contrast comes as the DeSantis campaign has also looked to highlight the candidate's ability to make a comeback after a summer of rebranding after a second quarter that brought disastrous headlines. A press release on Wednesday morning revealed that DeSantis had raised $15 million in the third quarter between his campaign committee, leadership PAC, and joint fundraising committee.
Trump may be afraid of DeSantis, at least in Iowa. The press release also pointed to reports about how Trump is still spending in Iowa. "Trump Visits Iowa, Aiming to Halt Rivals by Stepping Up Appearances," read a headline from The New York Times on September 20. "Trump allies urge a wake-up call for his lagging Iowa campaign operation" was the headline for an NBC News exclusive report from September 8.
DeSantis remains in second place in Iowa, with the RCP averages showing him with 16 percent. Trump leads with 49.2 percent support. Further, polls have shown that Iowa voters may still be undecided, as we covered at the time about a CBS News poll from last week.