DeSantis, Fox’s Cavuto spar over Iowa results: ‘You didn’t win a single county’

GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis and Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto sparred over the results of the recent Iowa caucuses Friday.

Cavuto asked DeSantis about recent negative press surrounding the Florida governor and his campaign. DeSantis responded by saying that the negativity was “just part of the business” and referenced criticism he faced around his handling of COVID-19 lockdowns.

“That’s just the nature of it,” DeSantis said. “I can tell you this, though, if you look at Iowa, you know, we did it right. I mean, we got the endorsement of the governor. We won the debates, the Miami debate, the Newsom debate, the NewsNation debate, the CNN debate, we did televised town halls, you know, got great response.”

“But you didn’t— you didn’t win a single county,” Cavuto interrupted.

DeSantis later responded by saying his campaign had an “uphill battle.” 

“We dug in, and we executed and we did run hard,” DeSantis said. “We did do well.”

According to election returns from Decision Desk HQ/The Hill, DeSantis earned 21.2 percent of the vote in the Iowa caucuses, almost 30 points behind former President Trump, who earned 51 percent of the vote. Fellow GOP presidential primary rival Nikki Haley only barely fell behind DeSantis, earning 19.1 percent of the vote.

Polling in New Hampshire, the next stop in the battle for the GOP nomination, is not showing a good outlook for the health of DeSantis’ campaign. He is currently sitting at 5.8 percent in Decision Desk HQ/The Hill’s poll average for the upcoming contest in the Granite State, far behind Haley at 35 percent and Trump at 45.6 percent.

Trump went after DeSantis in a rally in New Hampshire on Friday, saying his presidential campaign was one of the “great self-destructions I think I’ve ever witnessed.”

“Well no – a poll just came out. DeSanctus is at four. What happened to this guy? One of the great self-destructions I think I’ve ever witnessed,” Trump said, using a nickname he often uses for the Florida governor.