Presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) may be in the middle of implementing a new media strategy that includes interviews with legacy news outlets, but that hasn't stopped him from simultaneously slamming the "corporate press" on the campaign trail.
During an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt Thursday morning, DeSantis claimed corporate outlets didn't want him to become the GOP's next standard-bearer.
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"I think it’s very clear the corporate press in D.C. and New York, they do not want me to be the Republican nominee, because they know that I will beat Biden soundly," DeSantis said. "But more important than that, they know I will actually deliver on all these important issues that so many Republican voters care about."
DeSantis was responding to a series of reports covering his campaign's early struggles, including Republican donors apparently questioning DeSantis's ability to defeat former President Donald Trump in the 2024 GOP race.
"They’re going to shape this any way they can to try to knock me down. But I’ll tell you what, once our voters figure out, and many of them are starting to, that I’m the guy the media doesn’t want, that will end up helping me, Hugh," DeSantis said. "Because our voters understand how these guys operate. And if that becomes more and more apparent, I think it’s going to give me a boost."
The comments come the same week DeSantis sat for his first interview with a legacy news outlet as a presidential candidate in Columbia, South Carolina. He has normally only spoken with friendly conservative outlets.
CNN host Jake Tapper interviewed DeSantis on Tuesday, the same day that Trump hosted his own town hall with Fox News and revealed he was a target of special counsel Jack Smith's Jan. 6 Capitol riot investigation.
Tapper questioned DeSantis about the state of his campaign amid news that it had fired several staffers and that some donors had maxed out their financial contributions. The governor said he was focusing on early nominating states that will determine if he can defeat Trump.
"We're focused on building an organization. You got to get people to come out in the middle of January in Iowa to caucus for you," DeSantis told Tapper. "That is not going to make the same type of splash as if you were trying to run ads nationally or do those other things, and so we've been making really good progress."
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DeSantis has consistently trailed Trump in national polling. A Morning Consult poll this week showed Trump leading all rivals at 55% support, while DeSantis polls at 20%, a 35-point gap. Yet no other rival comes as close to Trump as DeSantis.
Next month's Republican National Committee primary debate will be a prime opportunity for DeSantis to show he can break through with primary voters after weeks of negative headlines. Trump has not committed to participating in the debate.