Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) says "the swamp" of the federal bureaucracy in Washington, D.C., got worse under former President Donald Trump's administration.
Speaking on Fox News's The Ingraham Angle on Tuesday night, the Florida governor hit at the former president for not doing more to fire officials like FBI director Christopher Wray when he was in power from 2017 to 2021.
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"He had three years to fire Christopher Wray and he didn’t fire him. And remember, I went to the rallies in 2016. You remember them? 'Lock her up, lock her up,' about holding Hillary accountable. And then two weeks after the election he said 'nevermind that I said that' and let her off the hook. I think if you look at, and I give him credit even though we are competing, for the great things he did do," DeSantis said.
"One of the things he did not do was drain the swamp. The swamp got worse in his four years. You had people like Wray and you had people in power who were not getting the job done. You’ve got to take very swift action and make it happen," he added.
DeSantis also said that in order to "drain the swamp," a leader needs to be "disciplined and focused," drawing a contrast between how he has handled the governorship in the Sunshine State versus Trump's handling of the presidency.
"Our country is in decline for a number of different reasons, economic and cultural. Part of the reason we are in decline is the constitutional system is totally out of whack. We need to get it back in order. I'm the guy that knows how to do it. You have to be disciplined, focused, and you have to have attention to detail because the swamp is not going to give up its power voluntarily," DeSantis said.
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The Florida governor trails Trump in the Republican primary, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average, but DeSantis is widely viewed as the chief opponent to Trump among GOP candidates.
DeSantis, along with most other top GOP presidential candidates, is set to participate in the first Republican debate next week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, while Trump has not said if he will participate.