Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis on Thursday expressed regret at sparring with and shunning the media early in his campaign and said he should have gone on "all the corporate shows."
During an appearance on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, the Florida governor was asked what errors he had made since announcing his candidacy that he is willing to correct in order to be successful in March.
DeSantis said that presidential campaigns often hinged significantly on media coverage and admitted he came into the race not doing many appearances for major networks.
"I should have just been blanketing. I should have gone on all the corporate shows," he said. "I should have gone on everything. I started doing that as we got into the end of the summer, and we did it. But we had an opportunity, I think, to come out of the gate and do that and reach a much broader folk."
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He also noted that he is the only candidate willing to appear on the WMUR and ABC debate in New Hampshire and is actively participating in televised town halls and answering questions from voters along the way.
"You know, I think that’s good. I’m the only one that’s not at this point running a basement campaign. Biden’s running a basement campaign. Trump won’t debate, won’t take questions from voters. And now, Haley won’t debate and won’t take questions from voters," DeSantis added.
DeSantis trailed former President Donald Trump by a significant margin in the Iowa caucuses but managed to come in second, which may give his campaign a much-needed boost.
Following Trump’s massive win, DeSantis’ team and allies blamed the media for his loss and said their quick projections that the former president would emerge victorious influenced voters still casting their ballots.
During his post-caucus speech, DeSantis complained media networks "called the election before people even got a chance to vote."
DeSantis’ criticism of the media is part of a larger and longer contentious relationship with major networks. While he has recently appeared several times on both CNN and MSNBC, prior interviews were rare. DeSantis and his former press secretary, Christina Pushaw, often made headlines by calling out the two networks.
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He has frequently clashed with the media on COVID-19 restrictions, Florida education, abortion and comparisons to Trump.
"When the media attacks me, I have a platform to fight back. When they attack everyday citizens, these individuals don’t have the adequate resources to fight back," DeSantis said weeks before announcing his candidacy. "It would contribute to an increase in ethics in the media and everything if they knew that if you smeared somebody, it’s false and you didn’t do your homework then you have to be held accountable for that."
He also claimed the media has a "predetermined narrative" when reacting to negative press coverage.
DeSantis also skimped on the media for his presidential campaign announcement, instead opting to reveal the news on Twitter, now known as X, via a conversation with owner Elon Musk and tech entrepreneur David Sacks.
His team said before the announcement that the news would cause a "liberal media meltdown."
DeSantis' press team did not return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
