Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was quickly confronted with a question about former President Donald J. Trump’s significant polling lead during CNN’s town hall.
“What do you consider a winning performance?” one questioner, Curt Ellis of Grimes, Iowa, asked, after noting President Trump’s strength in those surveys.
“I’ve gotten to all 99 counties,” Mr. DeSantis responded, reiterating his frequent challenges to President Trump for failing to appear at various debates.
“Don’t let the media pick the candidate,” he added.
CNN host Caitlin Collins followed up, asking him to elaborate on his comments about President Trump having changed from who he was when he ran in 2016.
Mr. DeSantis argued that President Trump’s influence on the primary process in 2022 turned an anticipated “Red Wave” into a trickle.
“The Democrats want Donald Trump to be the candidate. They are going to talk about all the legal stuff [and] January 6,” he said.
