Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told a reporter this week that if there was one thing he wishes could change in his pursuit of the GOP nomination, it would be the many indictments facing his party’s presumptive nominee, noting that they "distorted" the Republican primary and "sucked out a lot of oxygen."

What You Need To Know

  • Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in an interview that he wishes former President Donald Trump "hadn’t been indicted," saying it "distorted" the Republican primary

  • Trump faces 91 felony charges in four separate indictments, two in federal court and two in state courts in New York and Georgia 

  • DeSantis’ interview comes only a few weeks before Iowa holds its Republican presidential caucuses, the first nominating contest in the nation

“I would say if I could have one thing change, I wish Trump hadn’t been indicted on any of this stuff,” DeSantis told the Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody in an interview, arguing that the indictments both “distort[ed] justice, which is bad, but I also think it distorted the primary.”

When asked to clarify if he felt the indictment helped Trump, DeSantis replied: “it’s both that, but then it also just crowded out, I think, so much other stuff and it’s sucked out a lot of oxygen.”

 

Trump faces four criminal indictments in four separate jurisdictions this year — state charges in New York and Fulton County, Georgia, and federal charges in the District of Columbia and the Southern District of Florida — for a total of 91 felony charges. The New York charges are for allegedly falsifying business records; the Florida charges are for alleged mishandling of sensitive documents; and the Georgia and D.C. indictments are tied to allegedly attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

DeSantis’ interview comes only a few weeks before Iowa holds its Republican presidential caucuses, the first nominating contest in the nation. Forty delegates to decide the GOP’s presidential nominee at the Republican National Convention are up for grabs, and will be allocated on a proportional basis.

That relative lack of oxygen is vital to DeSantis, who trails Trump by more than 50 points in national polling, per aggregator FiveThirtyEight, and is on a downward trend as former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley ever-so-slightly gains on him. DeSantis is also second to Trump in polling in Iowa — by nearly 32 points. His position is more dire in New Hampshire polling, sitting in fourth below Trump, Haley and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

“Trump does obviously have a certain segment that’s very strong,” DeSantis told CBN, arguing that he feels that he can win over Trump voters that are on the fence. But first he has to overcome Haley and his other competitors — which he believes will be no issue, as he feels he appeals better to hard-line social conservatives and evangelicals.