During the Florida governor’s inaugural campaign event in New Hampshire, tension arose between reporter Steve Peoples from the Associated Press and Governor Ron DeSantis, a potential presidential candidate for 2024.
Peoples confronted DeSantis about his decision not to entertain questions from voters during the event, prompting a heated exchange.
As DeSantis interacted with attendees, posing for pictures and conversing with the crowd, Peoples approached him and inquired, “Why not take any questions from voters, though?”
Seeking a response, the reporter repeated the question, “Governor, how come you’re not taking questions from voters?”
DeSantis, amidst a throng of people engaging with him, retorted by asking Peoples if he was blind, emphasizing his active engagement with voters.
The reporter promptly asserted, “I’m not blind,” highlighting the evident presence of numerous individuals surrounding DeSantis, engrossed in conversation.
Attempting to clarify his perspective, DeSantis conveyed that people were coming up to him and asking questions and expressing their concerns before DeSantis concluded the interaction by walking away.
Amidst the irony highlighted by some observers regarding the reporter’s interruption of DeSantis’s conversation with voters, the original question seemed to arise from reports that DeSantis had refrained from taking audience questions during the speaking portion of the event.
The incident sparked a range of reactions on social media, with some individuals supporting DeSantis while others stood in favor of the reporter.
A Twitter user commented, “What an adept way DeSantis has of engaging with people,” while another appeared to hold an opposing viewpoint.
“He is actively engaging with the public, conversing with them and addressing their questions. #Trump2024. DeSantis should consider legal action for defamation. This statement is an outright falsehood,” one person asserted.
Yet another stated, “Clearly unprepared. Will never be ready,” and someone else insisted, “You guys just made a fool of yourselves by sharing this video, didn’t you?”
Expressing their concerns, one Twitter user remarked, “That’s an unstable behavior. He shouldn’t communicate with people like that,” and another added, “Yikes.”
This tense exchange occurred as part of DeSantis’s ongoing “Our Great American Comeback” tour, as his campaign has named it. On Wednesday, DeSantis was in Iowa, and on Thursday, he traveled to New Hampshire with plans to visit Laconia, Rochester, Salem, and Manchester.
DeSantis is scheduled to head to South Carolina on Friday, where he will visit Beaufort, Lexington, and Greenville, before returning to Iowa on Saturday for Senator Joni Ernst’s (R-IA) Roast & Ride fundraiser.
