Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo got frank with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sunday, asking him “what happened” with his campaign and demanding he explain what he can possibly do about the issues that continue to motivate Donald Trump voters in the GOP primary.
It has been noted that the blunt interview on Sunday Morning Futures had Bartiromo animatedly asking DeSantis what went wrong with his campaign that he should only be ahead of the rest of the field by double-digits but behind Trump in this, his first 46 days or so as a 2024 candidate.
DeSantis told Bartiromo hat he “never expected to just snap fingers and all of a sudden” he would be in the lead ahead of Trump, who has retained his dominance in the GOP since losing in 2020. He also claimed that the media “does not want” him to the nominee, without bringing up any recent specific examples of that in particular.
Bartiromo continued along those lines, asking DeSantis about a Fox News poll showing him at 22% and Trump at 56%, with Vivek Ramaswamy and the other GOP candidates each polling at 5% or below.
“Look where Donald Trump is going into this debate. Above 50%, Governor. He’s at 56%!” she said. “You’re at 22%, according to this poll.”
Batiromo attributed Trump’s popularity to the reactions of voters to “the corruption and the unfairness of our justice system.”
“I want to know what you’re going to do,” she demanded, emphasizing the words like an accusation of a clear deficiency in comparison with Trump on the subject. “What are you going to do about the fact that the FBI worked with Twitter to censor information, amplify lies, and suppress truth? What are you going to do about this influence peddling that we see is in plain sight that the Biden family has been doing, allegedly, for now more than a decade? What can you do about it to straighten things out, given the fact that Americans are sick and tired of the corruption they see in plain sight?”
DeSantis, too, drew a comparison with Trump when answering.
“You know, I look back at, like, the Hunter Biden censorship, which was a huge, huge deal to happen in the 2020 election,” he said. “And yet, you know, those were Donald Trump’s own agencies that were colluding with Big Tech.”
“I would never allow that to happen,” he said. “I would fire those people immediately.”
He mentioned specific examples of such firings in his reply, and he implied that Trump is too un-disciplined and un-focused to do anything about it on a second go round, adding, “we’ve got to get it done this time, because if we don’t get it done this time, it’s not going to happen.”
BARTIROMO: So you’re going to be on that stage for the upcoming first primary GOP debate here on Fox News live August 22nd. But I want to look at this poll number as we go into this first primary debate, ask you how you’re preparing for the debate. Look where Donald Trump is going into this debate. Above 50%, Governor, he’s at 56%! You’re at 22%, according to this poll.
I think one of the reasons that Donald Trump is in the lead is because of the corruption and the unfairness of our justice system. I want to know what you’re going to do. What are you going to do about the fact that the FBI worked with Twitter to censor information, amplify lies, and suppress truth? What are you going to do about this influence peddling that we see is in plain sight that the Biden family has been doing, allegedly, for now more than a decade?
What can you do about it to straighten things out, given the fact that Americans are sick and tired of the corruption they see in plain sight?
DESANTIS: We will end the weaponization of government. And that’s, of course, a new FBI director on day one. That’s a difference between me and Donald Trump, he says the jury’s still out on FBI Director Wray. I think you need a new start on day one. We’re going to clean house at the Department of Justice. And, you know, I look back at, like, the Hunter Biden censorship, which was a huge, huge deal to happen in the 2020 election. And yet, you know, those were Donald Trump’s own agencies that were colluding with Big Tech.
I would never allow that to happen. I would fire those people immediately.
And in fact, in Florida, we’ve signed legislation that prohibits all state and local government officials in our state from colluding with tech companies to try to censor the political speech of Americans. We’re also going to have one standard of justice in this country.
And right now, if you’re connected to the D.C. elite like Hunter Biden — I mean, look, if he were a Republican, he would have been in jail years ago, and I think we all know that. But if you’re connected to the D.C. ruling class, you’re able to get away with conduct that the average American won’t. And so what we have is, these institutions have been captured by one particular faction of our society, and they wield power against other factions they don’t like. And so if you’re like a pro-life activist, you may have FBI agents swarm your house, even though you said that you would surrender voluntarily.
And so people see that over and over again. But here’s what it requires, Maria: Requires a president that is disciplined, a president that is focused. You can’t get distracted on this. These people are not going to voluntarily give up the power that they’ve accumulated over many decades of neglect.
I’ve shown in Florida the ability to get the job done. We’ve cleaned house in our state, whether it’s firing a Soros prosecutor in Tampa, removing a sheriff in Broward, we take the decisive action necessary. But we’ve got to get it done this time, because if we don’t get it done this time, it’s not going to happen.”
(H/t MediaIte)
