Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) laughed off former president Donald Trump’s persistent attacks on him during a new interview with Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade, telling the host that he believed his record would render them ineffective were he to announce a presidential campaign.

“There’s a lot of people that want you to jump in, I don’t really know too many people who aren’t expecting you to jump in,” began Kilmeade. “Are you worried of being defined before you do it? Because you watch President Trump come out and try to label you as a Paul Ryan, Jeb Bush-type of Republican, and are you worried about being defined because you’re governor and you’re not a candidate yet?”

DeSantis, who chuckled to himself as Kilmeade built up to his question, said he wasn’t concerned.

“So when you have a record of achievement, people can call you a name, but that’s not gonna trump the achievement,” he replied. “And so we’ve built an astounding record of achievement, the best is yet to come, we’re gonna do a lot more over the next few months, and that’s what people look to.”

“Now if I was just like you know, some random maybe like a senator that didn’t have accomplishments, then maybe someone could try to define you, but I’m defined by my accomplishments, I’m defined by leading this state, and I’m defined by having a state which is the number one destination for Americans who are looking for a better way of life,” continued DeSantis. “And so what I think you’ll see over the next few months is that by doing, that is the best thing I can possibly do not only for this state, but for people looking at me and sizing me up.”

Trump, who endorsed DeSantis during his Republican primary contest in the 2018 gubernatorial election has directed a steady stream of invectives at DeSantis since announcing that he would once again seek the presidency.

“The real Ron is a RINO GLOBALIST,” declared Trump on Truth Social last month. The former president has also been testing nicknames for his prospective rival, including “Ron DeSanctimonious” and “Meatball Ron.”

Despite not having declared his candidacy, DeSantis leads Trump in a number of state-level polls and in some head-to-head matchup surveys. Trump leads in most national polls that include other declared and prospective candidates such as Nikki Haley, however.

“When can we expect the big announcement?” inquired Kilmeade at the end of his interview with DeSantis.

“Depends how good we do in this legislative session,” answered DeSantis.

Watch above via Fox News.

 

 

The post DeSantis Laughs Off Trump Attacks After Being Pressed by Fox’s Kilmeade: ‘People Can Call You a Name, But That’s Not Gonna Trump the Achievement’ first appeared on Mediaite.

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