DeSantis in first campaign speech: Trump himself is pushing voters in my direction

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held his first in-person voter event in the state of Iowa on Tuesday after announcing his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2024 US election on May 25.

Here he told the voters, among other things, that the nation is ‘going in the wrong direction’.

“We can see that,” he said.

“And we can feel it,” DeSantis said.

Iowa is a key state for DeSantis. The large Christian population has not always been enthusiastic about Donald Trump, who is DeSanti’s opponent.

One of the topics DeSantis touched on was the handling of Covid, with the Florida governor opposing both vaccine requirements and mask mandates. It is one of the points where DeSantis is expected to attack Trump, and in his speech DeSantis blamed Trump for shutting down the United States, among other things.

Had it not been for Republican protests – for example in Florida – “the former president would have shut down even more”, said DeSantis.

He also explained that he had refrained from criticizing Trump during his time as president because he already believed that Trump was treated unfairly by the media, Democrats and even some Republicans.

“Now he’s attacking me on some of the areas where we disagree, but I think the way he’s doing it will get voters to take my side,” DeSantis said in Iowa.

In 2016, Trump lost the state’s endorsement to become the Republican presidential candidate to Senator Ted Cruz, who was also part of the race.

Therefore, it is also no surprise that DeSantis starts in Iowa.

On Wednesday, DeSantis will hold four more events spread across the state, which is notorious for giving voters an up-close look at the candidates before deciding who will be the Republican nominee.

After Iowa, the governor will move on to New Hampshire and South Carolina. Here, all eyes will be on DeSantis, who some have criticized for lacking interpersonal skills.

DeSantis got off to a chaotic start to his presidential bid last week when technical problems marred his long-awaited announcement during a live stream on the social media site Twitter.

Todd Jacklin of the town of Johnston, Iowa, volunteered at the election event, but that doesn’t mean his vote is going to DeSantis, it said.

“I’m going to keep it open until next February,” says Jacklin.

Also present were members of the organization Mothers for Freedom. It is a conservative group that fights against left-wing education policies. Ron DeSantis has supported the group in Florida.