CNBC’s Joe Kernen told Republican Florida governor and presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis on Friday that it is “hard to imagine” he could be as successful as president as he’s been in his current office.
During the interview, Kernen asked DeSantis whether he believes that “some of the successes you’ve had in Florida, both economically and a lot of other successes” could be replicated “on a national level.”
“That’s what I think sometimes it’s hard to imagine,” Kernen added. DeSantis currently benefits from GOP supermajorities in both chambers of Florida’s legislature. As president, he would likely be forced to confront the prospect of much smaller majorities or of outright Democratic control.
DeSantis responded to Kernen by taking a shot at former President Donald Trump, arguing that he failed to deliver on his promise to have Mexico pay for the border wall. (RELATED: Nikki Haley Jumps To Second In Key Early State: POLL)
“But the thing is, you actually could have Mexico pay for it. Yeah, they’re not going to just check you a check. You impose fees on remittances from people that sending money back to Mexico and other countries. He was advised that he could have done that and he didn’t do it. So I think ultimately the choice for Republicans is, do we want somebody who will produce the leadership and results that will turn this country around? You asked is Florida’s success replicable nationally? Of course it is,” DeSantis said.
During a Sunday rally in Iowa, Trump said there was “no legal mechanism” to force Mexico to fund the border wall that he promised in 2016 to build at that country’s expense.
“What they have in D.C. is theatrics, it’s performative, but it doesn’t actually produce results for people,” DeSantis continued Friday. “In Florida, I’m a leader, I’m not an entertainer, I’m not running a soap opera down here. I make promises to people and then I use the authority that I have and I work with the legislature to deliver the promises. So the results speak for themselves.”
“Politics and governance is not a show, and what we’ve seen in Washington over the last week, to me, is a show. I don’t see the results that they’re delivering, even though they all ran saying they were going to do these great things in 2022,” DeSantis continued.
DeSantis’ campaign announced Wednesday it raked in $15 million during the third fundraising quarter, having raised just over $20 million during the first quarter. Only $5 million can be used toward the primary, the DeSantis campaign confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
DeSantis currently trails Trump by more than 40 points, according to the RealClearPolitics national average.