A reporter with a left-leaning bias accused Florida Governor Ron DeSantis of evading her queries on Monday, but his team has since released a video that directly contradicts her claims.
Tara Palmeri of Puck News, formerly of Politico, published an article titled “Ronny on the Run” in which she claimed he avoided her tough queries, leading her to the conclusion that he is a “paper tiger” who is not yet ready for “prime-time.”
“It was my first personal observation of what DeSantis’s critics mean when they call him a paper tiger—a superficially perfect test-tube Republican candidate who, on closer inspection, is probably not ready for prime-time,” Palmeri noted on Twitter in a post containing a link to her report.
“[I]n person, I immediately sensed a very different potential candidate: a guarded politician who had no interest in actually engaging with other humans and was perhaps even a little scared of the spotlight. He had trouble making eye contact with people in the crowd,” she added.
Red State noted: “For context, this is the same reporter who proclaimed back in March via ‘sources’ that DeSantis might be taking a weight-loss drug. So as you can see, she’s a super-serious reporter and not at all a left-wing attack dog.”
After she published her account, DeSantis’ team, which had been monitoring the exchange, released a video depicting the “hard-hitting” queries she posed.
Here are some of @tarapalmeri’s truly hard-hitting questions:
“I am Italian American too. Does that matter to you? … Why are you against Disney characters? Which one is your favorite one?" https://t.co/ombghdpCzO pic.twitter.com/eZ5PbbEJfU
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) May 23, 2023
“I am Italian American too. Does that matter to you? … Why are you against Disney characters? Which one is your favorite one?” the DeSantis War Room tweet added, partially paraphrasing Palmieri’s questions.
Interestingly, DeSantis has a reputation for not backing down when confronted with more difficult queries from reporters.
Bonchie at Red State commented on DeSantis’ ability to interact with the media:
Palmeri is completely aware of what she is doing when she writes her nonsense about DeSantis. This media narrative that he’s incapable of campaigning after winning Florida, a previously red state, by 20 points is the most fabricated thing I’ve ever seen. It is an attempt to eliminate DeSantis before he gains traction, but it will fail. If he is not the candidate in 2024, it will not be because he neglected hack reporters and they cried about it.
The Florida governor has not yet declared his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, but he is anticipated to do so this week, following the conclusion of the state’s legislative session.
In addition, a new report has cast light on his running mate preference.
DeSantis “is determined to recruit Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders as his running mate before making a formal announcement on his 2024 presidential bid, sources close to his campaign” exclusively told RadarOnline.com.
The news source added that “insiders claim” DeSantis decided to challenge former President Donald Trump’s press secretary after she became the first female governor of a red state in 2022, succeeding Asa Hutchison, who has also entered the 2024 GOP primaries.
More on this story via Conservative Brief:
“He really only has one strong choice: Sarah,” the source told the outlet. “He is desperate to lock up his running mate before he makes his formal announcement. He would announce his VP candidate very soon afterward. CONTINUE READING…
