The Sunshine State’s governor vowed to complete the border wall with Mexico that his rival for the Republican nomination promised ahead of 2016 but never delivered, Ron DeSantis told a packed crowd in New Hampshire.
Though he didn’t mention former President Donald Trump by name during a “fireside chat” in Rochester, N.H., DeSantis clearly had the ex-reality TV star on his mind as he addressed a standing-room-only audience at the American Legion.
“Leadership is not about entertainment, leadership is not about building a brand, leadership is not about virtue signaling,” he said. “Leadership is about producing results for the people you represent.”
Currently polling as the clear second in the conservative contest for the presidency, when presented with a crowd of first-in-the-nation voters, the Florida governor used the opportunity to tout his success at home and knock President Biden’s record over the last few years, all without mentioning any of his potential Republican rivals by name.
“In the state of Florida, we have produced more results during my administration than I would say any administration in the history of my state and I would put us up against anyone in the modern history of the Republican party,” he said.
Though his politics and positions are entirely in step with the party and therefore perhaps unremarkable when compared to other Republicans running this cycle, DeSantis said his work in Florida shows that he doesn’t just make empty promises, unlike, he seemed to indicate, some others who might make the rounds in the Granite State.
“We will finally after years and years of discussions and Republicans complaining about it, we will finally be the administration to bring this border issue to a conclusion. We are going to shut the border down, we are going to build the border wall,” he said to applause, referencing a central but undelivered promise from Trump’s 2016 campaign.
DeSantis’ stop in Rochester followed a rally in Laconia, where he apparently clashed with an Associated Press reporter who asked why the 49th Governor of Florida was in New Hampshire but not taking questions directly from voters.
The governor balked at the suggestion, saying he was directly interacting with voters, which he apparently did briefly as he left the VFW post where he spoke alongside Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis.
“People are coming up to me, talking to me,” the governor fired back at AP reporter Steve Peoples question. “What are you talking about? Are you blind? Are you blind? People are coming up to me, talking to me whatever they want to talk to me about.”
The Governor did not take questions from the crowd while speaking to the audience, however, nor did he when speaking later at the American Legion in Rochester, instead opting to accept questions from a moderator before again briefly interacting with locals.
Those locals, as is typical of New Hampshire voters every four years, seemed generally responsive to hearing what the former Navy officer had to say, though more than one openly wondered whether he stood a chance in a race that involved Trump.
One woman commented she was considering DeSantis out of an abundance of caution, considering the fact that 34 felony charges filed against the former president in New York State could well mean he finishes his campaign from a courtroom or a jail cell.
“Trump probably won’t be able to run,” she said.
Regardless of those charges — in fact, perhaps in some small way as a result of them — Trump is by far and away the leading GOP candidate, both in New Hampshire, where he’s won the primary twice, and nationally.
According to polling aggregator Real Clear Politics, the Florida-residing former president holds a more than 30-point lead on his state’s governor.