Ron DeSantis found himself trapped in yet another awkward moment where he had to avoid attacking Donald Trump, who he needs to defeat in the primary, because the Florida governor can’t afford to anger the Republican Party’s MAGA base.
The moment came as DeSantis visited the Field of Dreams in Iowa at the same time Trump was being arrested in Georgia. A reporter asked DeSantis to comment on that contrast, which visibly caused him to struggle to compute a normal human answer as DeSantis so often does. There’s a reason the guy keeps being compared to Homelander from The Boys.
“Governor, what do you think about this split screen of you here in the Field of Dreams and former President Trump being arrested?” a reporter asked off camera.
“Well, I’m glad I’m at the Field of Dreams,” DeSantis responded after an awkward pause where he clearly decided to dodge the question entirely. “I’m happy to be here.”
Asked Gov. DeSantis about the split screen of him being at the Field of Dreams in Iowa, and former President Trump getting arrested in Georgia.
DESANTIS: “Well I’m glad I’m at the Field of Dreams. I’m happy to be here.” pic.twitter.com/FHmzFMQtno
— aaron navarro (@aaronlarnavarro) August 25, 2023
While DeSantis remained reluctant to capitalize on Trump’s arrest, he had no hesitation attacking the other Republican candidates. DeSantis boasted that he came through “very strongly” during the first GOP debate unlike his opponents.
“The thing about the debate is, you know, nobody hit me so I wasn’t gonna get involved in that scrum,” DeSantis told reporters via the New York Post. “I know those guys were going back and forth. And what I did with 100% of my time was to speak directly to the American people about our vision to reverse the country’s decline.”
(Via New York Post)