Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said he should have spent more time on media appearances earlier in his campaign, rather than waiting until later in the season.
When asked by conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt Thursday what errors he thinks he made, the Florida governor admitted to not giving enough attention to the media.
“Presidential campaigns are a lot about media,” he said. “I spent a lot of time on the ground in Iowa, and it’s good. And when you meet people, you convert them. But there’s just so many voters out there that you’ve got to do. And I came in not really doing as much media. I should have just been blanketing. I should have gone on all the corporate shows. I should have gone on everything.”
At the start of the campaign season, Mr. DeSantis was considered the top Republican alternative to former President Donald Trump. But as the campaign progressed, it was clear in polls that he wasn’t gaining that much traction.
Mr. DeSantis finished second in the Iowa caucuses on Monday, about 30 percentage points behind Mr. Trump.
Still, he has qualified and participated in any debate he was able to, including a “red vs. blue state” debate against Democratic California Gov Gavin Newsom in November. He was the only one to accept the invitation to participate in a WMUR/ABC News debate set for Thursday, causing it to be canceled after former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump declined. The same thing happened with CNN’s debate scheduled for Sunday.
“Now, I’m everywhere. I mean, I’ll show up wherever. I committed to do the debate tonight on WMUR and ABC in New Hampshire. I’m the only one that’s willing to debate,” he said. “I’ve done these televised town halls. I go out and take questions from voters. You know, I think that’s good. I’m the only one that’s not at this point running a basement campaign.”
“Biden’s running a basement campaign,” he added. “Trump won’t debate, won’t take questions from voters. And now, Haley won’t debate and won’t take questions from voters.”
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.