Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday seemed to finally accept a fact that presidential candidates have pocketed for decades: a person aspiring to be president of the U.S. cannot run as a candidate for president of Fox News viewers alone.
DeSantis told radio host Hugh Hewitt that he regretted his early shunning of mainstream media outlets, acknowledging he should have made himself more accessible to a wider swath of potential voters. “I came in not really doing as much media,” DeSantis told Hewitt. “I should have just been blanketing. I should have gone on all the corporate shows. I should have gone on everything.”
DeSantis launched his campaign with a Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk marred by technological glitches. He initially avoided most opportunities to chat with traditional media organizations such as CNN and NBC News in favor of friendlier conservative outlets, but he reversed his course last summer after sagging poll numbers and staff layoffs.
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“We had an opportunity, I think, to come out of the gate and do that and reach a much broader folk,” DeSantis said on Thursday. “Now, I’m everywhere. I mean, I’ll show up wherever.”
In the run-up to the Iowa caucuses, DeSantis appeared with Nikki Haley for a CNN debate and sat for interviews with CNN and NBC. He was also the only candidate to agree to ABC and CNN debates in New Hampshire this week, which Haley bucked over Donald Trump’s refusal to participate. The events were both canceled this week.
The reflection came as DeSantis’ presidential campaign remained ever so slightly above water following a second-place finish in Iowa on Monday, though he still trails both Trump and Haley in New Hampshire.
