Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) sat down with a British publication to promote his new book as he slowly exercises his foreign policy chops.
DeSantis reflected on his recent memoir, tersely opined on foreign affairs, and touted his governing record in a wide-ranging interview with the London Times as buzz about his 2024 ambitions swirls.
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“I did think it was important, at least, to give people some sense of where my foundations were, some of the early things that influenced me, but I didn’t necessarily want to spend most of the book doing that," DeSantis told the publication. "I think what people wanted to see was how you applied your ideas about leadership.”
At one point, DeSantis was pressed about former Gov. Sarah Palin's (R-AK) assertion that he should sit out 2024 and remain governor of Florida, partly due to his youth, which grants him time to mount a presidential bid in the future.
“I would flip it around, and I think we look at the current incumbent,” DeSantis quipped in a jab at President Joe Biden. “You know, don’t we need some more energy in the executive? Don’t we need a little bit more vigor and a little bit more punch?”
Other likely 2024 Republican contenders have given interviews with the London Times in the past. For instance, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) did so last year. The interview with DeSantis was conducted at the George Bush Republican Center in Tallahassee, Florida, and highlights how the Florida governor is expanding his political purview.
At one point, he became "animated" while recounting a favorite family trip to golf courses in Northern Ireland and Scotland. DeSantis later waded into the controversy surrounding the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union — a move DeSantis supports.
“My impression, based on what we get here, is that the Conservative Party hasn’t been as aggressive at fulfilling that vision as they should have been and that maybe they’ll get punished in the next election as a result of that," he said. "I do think that, you know, there’s been some disappointment from what I can tell that it wasn’t done more aggressively.”
When pressed about the raging war in Ukraine, DeSantis echoed conservative criticism of Biden, asking, "Is our policy just do whatever Zelensky wants? Or do we have a concrete idea of what we’re trying to achieve exactly?"
During his tenure in Congress, DeSantis slammed the Obama administration for being slow to provide Ukraine with lethal military weapons in the wake of Russia's annexation of Crimea. DeSantis has opened up about foreign policy in recent weeks but has been reticent to harp on foreign affairs too much.
“Perhaps you should cover some other ground? I think I’ve said enough,” he shot back when questioned about how Biden should've handled Ukraine differently.
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His new book, The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival, hit stores Tuesday and is widely seen as a rite of passage into a presidential campaign. DeSantis is set to travel to Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, and possibly South Carolina later this month — key battleground states in the GOP primary process.
DeSantis has teased that his 2024 decision will come around the time the Florida legislative session wraps up in May. He is in second place after former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical GOP primary, per the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate.