In case you missed it, 2024 GOP presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis (Fla) wants to expand his campaign’s media strategy.
Once upon a time, DeSantis rarely appeared on mainstream media outlets, dodging hard-hitting questions led by liberal reporters.
However, to close the polling gap with former President Trump, DeSantis’s campaign team is shifting its game plan ahead of the primary.
After only seven weeks since the governor launched his campaign, DeSantis is reportedly planning to shake things up as he continues to fall behind as the 2024 race heats up. Since launching his campaign in May, the Florida superstar has shied away from appearing on liberal media outlets and only sticking to conservative-friendly platforms.
Critics have scolded DeSantis for not engaging with more mainstream platforms, unlike Trump, who constantly talks to the Left-wing media.
Conservative commentator Megyn Kelly had some advice for the governor, praising his interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
“I really think the number one thing he needs to do is get himself in front of adversarial liberal media and fight,” Kelly said.
She advised DeSantis to go on CNN and MSNBC or take on extreme liberal Joy Reid.
Earlier in the year, DeSantis’s campaign felt he could only afford to engage with Right-leaning outlets. Now, his team is encouraging him to tackle tougher interviews from the opposite party.
DeSantis was in South Carolina this week hoping to revive his campaign, making him the first major party presidential candidate officially on the ballot for the first-in-the-South contest.
In May, Trump put himself in the spotlight by taking questions from New Hampshire voters during a CNN town hall, doing more good for the former president than it did for the network, causing the liberal outlet to tank further down the black hole than it was.
DeSantis is walking back his attacks against Trump, chastising him for participating in liberal news. Yet, here is the governor doing the same thing.
A Super PAC supporting DeSantis bashed the former president’s appearance, claiming Trump was “stuck in the past.”
“The CNN town hall was, as expected, over an hour of nonsense that proved Trump is stuck in the past. After 76 years, Trump still doesn’t know where he stands on important conservative issues like supporting life and the 2nd Amendment. How does that Make America Great Again?” The PAC said.
However, on Tuesday, DeSantis made his own appearance on the liberal network to defend his struggling campaign.
CNN's Jake Tapper asked about concerns that voters may view the governor as "less electable" than Trump based on his conservative record in Florida.
DeSantis responded, saying, "The proof is in the pudding."
"I took a state that had been a one-point state, and we won it by 20 percentage points, 1.5 million votes," DeSantis said. "Our bread and butter were people like suburban moms. We're leading a big movement for parents' rights, that the parents be involved in education, school choice- get the indoctrination out of schools. Of course, there are bread-and-butter issues that matter too- inflation, more economic opportunity. Florida's economy is ranked no. 1 of all 50 states. We've worked hard to make that happen."
The GOP hopeful called the recent political polls that indicate DeSantis is trailing far behind Trump "wrong," adding that he thinks the Left views him as a threat because they know DeSantis can beat President Joe Biden and deliver on his promises.
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