OSKALOOSA, Iowa — Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is trying to distance himself from former President Donald Trump's legal problems, adamant that he needs to remain focused on what he can do to fix the country as part of his campaign.
When asked about special counsel Jack Smith indicting Trump on further charges related to the federal classified documents case, DeSantis declined to discuss the former president's "conduct" but repeated his pledge to "end the weaponization" of the federal government and restore the public's trust in its institutions.
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"I want to spend less time litigating that, because that's really looking in the past, and more time focusing on the future in terms of what we need to accomplish as a country," the governor told reporters Friday in Albia. "We don't have time for distractions. You can't take your eye off the ball. You've got to get the job done. So, as president, I'm going to conduct myself in a way that is focused on the people's issues."
"When they're shooting at you, the way you handle it is not shoot yourself in the foot and then make sure you keep the eye on the ball, so that is what we're gonna do: eye on the ball, focused on the mission, deliver results for the American people," he said.
DeSantis also clarified comments he made regarding Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saying he agreed with the Democrat concerning the country's restrictive COVID-19 pandemic response and Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The other day, DeSantis appeared open to giving Kennedy a position at the Food and Drug Administration or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"I want to work with people across the political spectrum, so that it never happens again," he said. "But that's different than people said, 'Oh, appoint to the CDC or — no, I'm going to have a physician or a Ph.D. in that position, of course."
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DeSantis, too, reacted to Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who indirectly criticized the governor this week for defending the Florida Board of Education for approving a curriculum denounced for saying slaves learned skills that "could be applied for their personal benefit."
“Part of the reason our country has struggled is because D.C. Republicans all too often accept false narratives, accept lies that are perpetrated by the Left," the governor said. "To accept the lie that Kamala Harris has been perpetrating, even when that has been debunked, that's not the way you do it."