FORT WALTON BEACH, FLORIDA — On Tuesday, Governor DeSantis held a press conference to highlight the Purple Star school program for military families transitioning to Florida. Unsurprisingly, the governor was asked about the critique he recently received from former President Donald Trump.
It was two days after the midterm elections when Trump released a statement where he furiously attacked the popular Florida governor – who had just been re-elected for a second term. In the statement, he called DeSantis an “average Republican governor with great Public Relations.”
“Ron came to me in desperate shape in 2017 – he was politically dead, losing in a landslide to a very good Agriculture Commissioner, Adam Putnam, who was loaded up with cash and great poll numbers. Ron had low approval, bad polls, and no money, but he said that if I would Endorse him, he could win,” Trump wrote.
Today, at Fort Walton Beach High School, Governor DeSantis was asked about how he felt about the former president’s verbal attack. His answer was metered and didn’t specifically mention Trump or his comments.
"One of the things I've learned in this job is when you're leading, when you're getting things done, you take incoming fire, that's just the nature of it,” the governor said. “I roll out of bed in the morning… I have corporate media outlets having a spasm just for the fact that I’m getting up in the morning.”
“I don’t think any governor got attacked more – particularly by corporate media – than me over my four-year term. And yet, I think what you learn is… all that’s just noise. And really what matters is – are you leading, are you getting in front of issues, are you delivering results for people… and are you standing up for folks? And if you do that, none of that stuff matters,” DeSantis said – adding that people should go take a look at the scoreboard from Tuesday’s elections.
