Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis responded to New Hampshire GOP Gov. Chris Sununu’s endorsement of former Ambassador Nikki Haley by praising the governor’s political chops, but he also said he doesn’t believe it will be enough to put Haley over the top.
“Well, unlike some people running, if someone doesn’t endorse me, I’m not going to go trash them,” DeSantis told CNN’s Jake Tapper, taking a shot at former President Trump, when asked about Sununu’s endorsement of Haley.
“Chris is a good guy. He’s done a good job. And I’m going to continue to say he’s good. He’s a really good campaigner.”
DeSantis added the caveat that even though Sununu is a good campaigner, he is “not going to be able to paper over Nikki being an establishment candidate.”
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“I mean, she’s getting funded by liberal Democrats from California, like the founder of LinkedIn, people on Wall Street like the head of JP Morgan. She’s getting all these folks that are going to her. Guess what, guys? Those folks do not want to see conservative change in this country. So why are they gravitating to her?”
DeSantis criticized Haley for a controversial comment on the campaign trail calling for social media users to verify their real names, which caused a firestorm among some conservatives.
“Conservatives have been singled out for expressing opinions on social media. People have been canceled,” DeSantis said. “They’ve lost jobs over this. Why would she want to put our own people under there? So I think there’s so many problems with her policy positions.”
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DeSantis said that Haley is “really reflective of the old Republican establishment” and “we do not need to go back to that.”
“But I will say this, Chris is great, he’s done a great job as governor. He’s a great campaigner. And I look forward to campaigning with him next fall in New Hampshire as the Republican nominee.”
Sununu announced his coveted endorsement on Tuesday telling a crowd in New Hampshire that he is thankful for Trump’s service but “we’re moving on.”
“This is a race between two people: Nikki Haley and Donald Trump,” Sununu told reporters after the event. “That’s it. Nikki has spent the time on the ground here, she has earned people’s trust, and that’s going to be the real decider.”
Trump currently leads the field in New Hampshire with 45.5% of the vote followed by Haley at 18.5%, former New Jersey Gov. Christie at 12%, and DeSantis at 8.5%, according to the Real Clear Politics average.
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