Governor Ron DeSantis shared some of his thoughts on Wednesday’s kickoff GOP debate, saying that he “came through strongly” despite some heated moments between several candidates. Following the debate in Milwaukee, DeSantis returned to campaigning on the ground in Iowa, hoping to make inroads against former President Donald Trump. He traveled with his family to Dyersville–the location of the iconic movie set for the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams”–and held a rally.
DeSantis offered an interview and gave his thoughts about his performance at the Republican primary debate.
“The thing about the debate is, you know, nobody hit me, so I wasn’t gonna get involved in that scrum,” DeSantis told the outlet.
“I know those guys were going back and forth. And what I did with 100% of my time was to speak directly to the American people about our vision to reverse the country’s decline, what specifically we need to do, and most importantly what I’ve already done to show that I can do this nationally.”
Much of the evening was dominated by an intense debate between former Governors Nikki Haley and Chris Christie and former Vice President Mike Pence against political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy. The Federalist co-founder Ben Domenech assessed that “Vivek was the lightning rod in this debate. He’s so disliked by the other candidates he took all the incoming fire.”
Meanwhile, DeSantis largely stood above the fray, avoiding attacks from his fellow debaters.
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“The thing about the debate is, you know, nobody hit me so I wasn’t gonna get involved in that scrum. I know those guys were going back and forth. What I did with 100% of my time was to speak directly to the American people about our vision to reverse the country’s decline, what… pic.twitter.com/EcVseFcHX0
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) August 25, 2023
The DeSantis family plays baseball at the Field of Dreams: pic.twitter.com/gHbOpdwQWc
— Dylan Wells (@dylanewells) August 25, 2023
“Of anyone on the stage, I’m the only guy that’s actually delivered on all the things that our voters care about,” DeSantis continued. “And I think that contrast came through very strongly.”
Before the debate, ABC News reported that the DeSantis campaign was preparing for a fight, with campaign manager James Uthmeier commenting that DeSantis “undoubtedly will be the center of attack.”
DeSantis was also asked about one moment during the debate where he was slow to raise his hand after the candidates were asked whether they’d support Trump as the nominee if he is convicted in a court of law.
“It wasn’t because of [hesitation],” DeSantis said.
“I signed that pledge. I will follow the pledge 100%. I objected to doing the hand-raise and I thought most of the candidates seemed to agree with me and so I was like, ‘OK, are we really doing this?’ and people were doing it.”
Other viewers also objected to the hand raise, comparing the style of questioning to something out of ‘elementary school.’
“Again, ‘raise your hand’ debate questions are stupid,” wrote TPUSA activist Ian Haworth.
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Ron DeSantis won the night!
He is the proven leader who will reverse America’s decline.
We’re not getting a mulligan on 2024, he will get the job done, no excuses! pic.twitter.com/Alr6iKFqc2
— Casey DeSantis (@CaseyDeSantis) August 24, 2023
Several hundred miles away from DeSantis’ Iowa campaign stop on Thursday, former President Donald Trump surrendered to the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia. Asked about how the two GOP primary contenders were spending their evenings in very different ways, DeSantis remarked, “Well, I’m glad I’m at the Field of Dreams. I’m happy to be here,”
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