Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday deflected a question on whether the indictments against former President Trump make him unqualified to continue in the 2024 presidential election.
“At the end of the day, voters make that decision,” DeSantis told CBS’s Ed O’Keefe during a campaign stop in Iowa. “Some people to ask me like, ‘Well, if somebody’s indicted, should they be able to run?’ The problem is, we’ve seen political indictments.”
“At the end of the day, the election’s got to be about the future,” he added.
DeSantis, instead, argued Republicans should be making the election about defeating President Biden in 2024.
“What we need to make the election about is a referendum on Biden’s failed policies and our positive vision to get America on the right track,” he said. “And then, who can win? And then who can actually deliver on these things.”
His comments come just before the Justice Department (DOJ) levied new charges against the former president, accusing Trump of attempting to delete surveillance footage at his Mar-a-Lago resort. A second co-conspirator was also charged under the Espionage Act.
The Florida governor added that he too was frustrated with the FBI and DOJ, reiterating his belief that the Biden administration is involved in the weaponization of government and using a two-tiered system of justice.
“What are we going to do about it? … We will clean house,” he said. “We will ensure that we’re involved in making sure that they’re staying within the lines.”
“So I will just tell voters, ‘Think about, OK, you know, what does the country need going forward, and who is most likely to bring those policies about.'”
DeSantis has previously condemned charges filed against Trump in both the New York hush money case and classified documents probe. But, he seemed to waver on defending the former president in the New York case prior to the indictment earlier this year.
“I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair,” DeSantis said at the time. “I just — I can’t speak to that.”