Trump mocks DeSantis after testy Fox interview over Iowa results

by Lauren Irwin - 01/20/24 1:28 PM ET

Former President Trump mocked an interview rival GOP presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gave over the results from the recent Iowa caucuses.

“Ron DeSanctimonious short circuits when confronted with the fact he didn’t win a single county in Iowa,” Trump posted to his Truth Social site Saturday.

Trump easily earned 98 out of 99 of Iowa’s counties Monday during the first test of the 2024 election season. Fellow Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley beat out Trump by one vote in one county, keeping him from a complete sweep of the state.

In a recent interview with Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto, DeSantis argued about the results, pushing back on claims that his campaign efforts in the state failed.

DeSantis finished second overall in the Iowa caucuses, after he invested heavily in the Hawkeye State and visited all 99 counties while campaigning.

“If you look at Iowa, you know, we did it right. I mean, we got the endorsement of the governor, we won the debates,” DeSantis said on air. “We did the televised town halls, you know, got great response.”

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Cavuto interrupted, saying that although DeSantis did all those things, he didn’t “win a single one,” referring to the Iowa counties.

“But I also had, I mean, you know, how many people would have been able to handle $50 million in ads, how many people would have been able to handle all the headwinds? We had a very uphill battle, we dug in and we executed and we did run hard and we did do well.”

Now, Trump, DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley will face off in the next election of the year, the New Hampshire primaries on Jan. 23. According to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ polling average, Trump leads the pack.

Trump has 45.6 percent support, while Haley is in second place with 35 percent and DeSantis trails far behind with 5.8 percent.