Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appeared to suggest Republican presidential candidates without a “conceivable” path to secure the nomination should drop out.
The Florida governor weighed in on the 2024 presidential election during a Wednesday interview with podcast host and comedian Dave Rubin.
Although DeSantis stressed it wasn’t his place to tell fellow hopefuls whether they should drop out or not, he said Republican candidates should address their “conceivable” standing in polls.
“I do think you’re going to see a smaller stage because I think some of those folks aren’t going to qualify for this next round,” he said of the second Republican primary debate, which is scheduled for Sept. 27 and will be hosted by Fox News at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in Simi Valley, California.
“Far be it for me to tell anyone who to run or not run, but you either have a path or you don’t,” he said. “If you don’t have a path, then we should focus on the candidates that have a conceivable shot at this.”
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DeSantis also commented on last month’s Republican primary debate hosted by Fox News in Milwaukee.
“Being on that stage, I think one of the reasons why I wasn’t necessarily the target as much as people thought is I have a record of success,” he said, adding he had delivered America First policies during his tenure as governor of the Sunshine State. “I’ve done the things that people are talking about that we need to do for this country in Florida across the board.”
“I’m armed with the ability to say that I’ve done it and also to point out, you know, whatever shortcomings would be from somebody that’s lobbing a grenade my way,” DeSantis continued. “I’m prepared to do however it shakes out.”
The Florida Governor also commented on former President Donald Trump’s decision not to fire former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci.
“His excuse had been that if you fired Fauci, both the Democrats and the media would have pitched a fit, which of course is 100% true,” DeSantis said, conceding Trump, who is currently seeking a third presidential run, was correct in his assessment, though noted “you got to stand up and do what’s right.”
“Clearly, he could have been fired from the White House Task Force. There was no obligation to run him out at press conference after press conference, have him doing media interviews,” he said, suggesting Fauci could have been fired for misconduct regarding the National Institutes of Health (NIH) employment of gain of function research. “During the height of the COVID stuff in 2020, Fauci would do local hits in Florida media attacking me for having schools open.”
DeSantis also commented on the former president’s absence during the first Republican primary debate, also hosted by Fox News, saying he wanted Trump to attend the upcoming debate later this month.
DeSantis has increased from 13% to 14.9%, according to the latest Real Clear Politics poll, though trails former President Trump’s lead of 53.6%.
