The former president’s legal troubles have “sucked out a lot of oxygen” from the Republican fight, according to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who expressed his hope that former Trump hadn’t been prosecuted in 2024.
David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network asked Ron DeSantis what he regretted most about the outcome of the GOP primary in an interview that aired Thursday.
“If I could change one thing, it would be that Trump shouldn’t have been indicted on any of this stuff,” DeSantis said Brody.
While discussing the allegations that Trump has faced this year, DeSantis brought up his criticism of the investigation into alleged hush money payments made by the former president, which is being led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
“Someone like Bragg would not have brought that case if it had been any other candidate for president, and it is disheartening that they are distorting justice,” DeSantis condemned. “However, I believe it skewed the primary as well.”
Brody wanted to know if he thought the indictments helped Trump’s primary campaign.
It’s both of those things, but it has also, in my opinion, taken a lot of air out of so many other things, DeSantis said.
Federal allegations against Trump include his handling of confidential data after leaving office and his conduct leading up to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. DeSantis has openly condemned these indictments. While campaigning in July, DeSantis voiced his displeasure with the primary’s fixation on Trump’s legal disputes.
Talking to Zobuz, he expressed his belief that focusing on events from four years ago would not benefit the country in a presidential race.
Trump’s margin has grown in recent months, while DeSantis, who joined the primary in May and has largely campaigned on culture war topics, has lagged behind him in the polls the whole race.
With 67% of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters supporting Trump, DeSantis and Haley both received 11%, according to a poll issued this week by Quinnipiac University. The Florida governor and former South Carolina governor tied for second place, well behind Trump.
Despite DeSantis’s dismal showing in the polls, his campaign has been shaken by internal strife. The Washington Post reported last week on “mismanagement and conduct issues” at the organization, which led to Jeff Roe, the senior strategist of the super PAC supporting DeSantis, resigning. He was the latest high-ranking executive to go from the super PAC in as many weeks.
Rachel Dixon works on Business, travel and features blogs at Daily Mid Time and Zobuz. She has passionate for travelling and cooking. Spending time with family as well as on internet to enhance her capabilities for well orientated content creation and blog writing.
