Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently stated what he considers the greatest challenge faced by his campaign, attributing his campaign’s underwhelming performance largely to the legal tribulations of former President Donald Trump.
Trump, after declaring his candidacy for the 2024 presidential race, faces 91 charges resulting from four separate indictments. Despite these legal battles, Trump continues to lead the 2024 Republican primary as the front-runner — and the Florida governor claims that these prosecutions have helped Trump in the Republican primary.
DeSantis, in an interview with CBN News’ David Brody on Thursday, expressed his views on the situation.
“I would say, if I would have one thing changed, I wish Trump hadn’t been indicted on any of this stuff. I mean, honestly, I think from Alvin Bragg on, I’ve criticized the cases, I think someone like Bragg would not have brought that case if it was anyone other than Donald Trump, and so someone like that is distorting justice, which is bad. But I also think it distorted the primary, and I think those have been the main issues that have happened,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis also predicted that Democrats and the media have a strategic plan to exploit Trump’s legal challenges, especially if he becomes the presumptive nominee.
“I think the Democrats have a plan on this, I think the media has a plan on this and I think if it gets to the point six months from now where Trump is the presumptive nominee, and he’s having to go through all this, they have a plan for how they’re gonna ride this out,” he elaborated.
The charges against Trump include 34 counts by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for allegedly falsifying business records related to payments to former porn actress Stormy Daniels. Special counsel Jack Smith has also charged Trump in two separate indictments, one for allegedly storing classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and another for purportedly engaging in conspiracies to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Additionally, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis indicted Trump and 18 others for allegedly attempting to overturn the election results in Georgia.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all 91 charges and has consistently denied any wrongdoing. In the midst of these legal entanglements, Trump maintains a strong lead in the primary polls, with a 62% support rate, while DeSantis trails with approximately 12% support, according to FiveThirtyEight.
