Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) blasted conservative media outlets during a call with supporters on Wednesday, alleging that they glossed over former President Donald Trump’s “baggage” in favor of boosting his candidacy, according to multiple reports.
To make his point, DeSantis brought up Trump’s 2016 remark that he was so popular, he could shoot somebody on New York City’s Fifth Avenue — site of his famed Trump Tower — and not lose any support.
“Well, I think he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue, and the conservative media wouldn’t even report on it,” DeSantis said, according to The New York Times and NBC News, which obtained recordings of the call.
“I think they have made the decision that their business model just doesn’t work if they offer any criticism of Trump,” DeSantis reportedly said. As Trump racked up criminal charges over the last year, he earned sympathy instead of skepticism from voters.
The Florida governor, once a rising star on the right, ended his presidential bid last month as he tanked in the polls and failed to win early primaries.
Although DeSantis was reluctant to offer any criticism of Trump on the campaign trail, he appeared much more candid on the half-hour private phone call with supporters.
DeSantis reportedly accused Trump of failing to implement the policies he said he would during his first term, and suggested conservative media would similarly fail to hold him accountable if he retook the White House.
“I don’t see the accountability being in place right now for the balance of this campaign and then, if he’s able to win, to go into the White House and actually implement some of these policies,” DeSantis said, per NBC News.
Recalling how he was a member of Congress over the first half of Trump’s term, DeSantis reportedly said that Republicans “didn’t really do what we said we would do.”
He said, according to the Times, “You didn’t see any major immigration, border or any type of legislation. You didn’t see anything with repealing and replacing Obamacare. You didn’t see anything about reining in the bureaucracy. I mean, it was pretty, pretty mundane stuff.”
Trump’s camp bashed DeSantis in response, with one adviser calling the Florida governor “a sad little man.”
DeSantis reportedly also opined on Trump’s vice presidential pick — yet undecided — to say it would be a “mistake” for Trump to consider “identity politics.”
“Now we have a diverse Republican Party. I want everybody in the fold, don’t get me wrong. But I don’t want people representing 10, 15% of the party being in the driver’s seat,” he said, NBC News reported.
DeSantis reportedly said he was not interested in the job himself.
While Trump appeared to confirm on Tuesday that DeSantis was on his shortlist for vice president — along with Vivek Ramaswamy, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and others — his campaign axed the idea on Thursday.
