Alex Witt heaped praise on an MSNBC reporter for pushing Gov. Ron DeSantis hard for an answer to a question about his chief rival — though ultimately he did not respond.

In a report from the Iowa State Fairgrounds where GOP presidential candidates converged Saturday, Vaughn Hillyard tracked down DeSantis and asked him an uncomfortable question.

“What does it say that Donald Trump is not here?” Hillyard asked, as DeSantis moved through a sea of people.

DeSantis never stopped walking and opted not to directly acknowledge his opponent.

“I’m just happy to be here. I love the people here, I think this is a great event, and, you know, there’s a lot of friends now that we’ve developed, but we’ll make a lot more friends. That’s what it’s all about,” DeSantis answered before disappearing into the crowd.

“Hey, you know what? I was egging you on to make that question to DeSantis, which you did, thank you very much,” Witt said to Hillyard. “But, let me just say, you got him! You corralled him! He couldn’t escape you! So, well done, my friend.”

Candidates for the 2024 Republican nomination were all in Des Moines for Sen. Joni Ernst‘s (R-IA) annual Roast and Ride event — all except for frontrunner Donald Trump. Trump was in Iowa earlier in the week, where he pilloried DeSantis and the other candidates, calling them “stupid.”

Hilliard’s question took some courage, considering the way DeSantis answered AP reporter Steve Peoples, who asked why the Florida governor “didn’t take questions from voters” in New Hampshire.

“People are coming up to me, talking to me. What are you talking about? Are you blind? Are you blind? People are coming up to me, talking to me whatever they want to talk to me about,” DeSantis snapped before turning on his heel.

DeSantis has been criticized for not having the best bedside manner. His congressional colleague, former Rep. David Trott (R-MI) told Politico in an email that the then-Florida lawmaker “never said a single word to me. I was new to Congress, and he didn’t introduce himself or even say hello. I think he’s an asshole,” Trott wrote, adding in a phone interview, “I don’t think he cares about people.”

Personal relations aside, DeSantis is popular among Republican voters in his state, but has angered liberals by enacting what he called “anti-woke policies.”

The post ‘He Couldn’t Escape!’ Alex Witt Raves Over Reporter Trying to ‘Corral’ DeSantis And Get Answer To Uncomfortable Question first appeared on Mediaite.

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