DeSantis Campaign Press Release - ICYMI: Ron DeSantis on the Ingraham Angle

"I'll be the only guy on that stage tomorrow night who has actually dug in, fought these big fights and delivered big victories."

Tallahassee, FL - Ron DeSantis today joined Laura Ingraham live on Fox News' The Ingraham Angle. The highlights are below.

Watch the full interview HERE.

On the importance on showing up to debate:

I think it's interesting that he [Donald Trump] is not willing to stand on that stage. I think he owes it to all the voters to show up, defend his record, and articulate what he would do going forward and what he would might do differently. And he's not willing to do that. I think the voters have a right to hear from all the candidates? I mean, I think we can talk about a lot of the things--he's running in 2024 on a lot of the same promises he ran on in 2016 and didn't deliver on. He said he was going to drain the swamp. They didn't drain the swamp at all. He still defends hiring Christopher Wray, he didn't fire Wray. He didn't fire Fauci. He said Mexico was gonna pay for the border wall. That didn't happen. They started the wall, but we've got a lot more to be able to do to finish the wall. He said he was going to eliminate the national debt. They added almost a trillion dollars to the debt in four years and then remember, he promised to appoint a special counsel for Hillary Clinton then after the election two weeks later, he's like, 'Oh, no, forget about it.' That's what you say before the election, it's not what you say after. So now, he's saying he's going to do one for Biden, but he had promised to do that for you in 2016. So I think it's about, you got to deliver on these things. If we do the same thing and we don't deliver on them 100%, we're not going to turn the country around.

On reducing harmful government spending:

He [Donald Trump] made the decision to turn the country over to Anthony Fauci. Those decisions, I think were bad. They were mistaken decisions that led to the borrowing and printing of trillions of dollars. They did 4.2 trillion just in 2020, before Biden even took office. Of course Biden added gas to the fire, but that is why people's prices have gone up. It's because of what Washington did to inflate the currency and spending. But here's the thing about this. He says he says that he did everything right. He said he wouldn't do anything different. In Florida, you know, we were listening to them and then after a few weeks, I'm like, 'This is not right.' And we went in our own direction. Our median income is still going up, even through COVID, because we chose freedom over Fauci. I think of our economic track record, where we've actually paid down almost 25% of our state's debt since I've been governor. We run big budget surpluses, done big tax cuts, and have the number one state for new business formations. That's the track record we need to bring to Washington and I'll be able to get the job done.

On the importance of winning in 2024:

We're not going to get a mulligan on the 2024 election. We've had three straight election cycles in a row where Democrats have a playbook to beat Republicans. And if we repeat that same playbook in 24, we're going to lose. We were supposed to have a big red wave in 2022. I thought your monologue was excellent outlining the problems but all those problems were there in November of 2022. Republicans should have capitalized on that by winning a huge red wave, and that did not happen. Voters chose Democrats over some of our candidates, except in Florida. In Florida, we delivered a historic reelection victory and that's because we delivered on our promises. So as you look forward, the time for talking is over. I look at the border situation. I look at the budget situation. These are issues that Republicans have been talking about for decades and yet they still persist. I'm the only guy running that can say, everything I promised my voters I would do, I delivered on 100% of the promises. So yes, I will beat Biden, but even more importantly than that, I'm the guy that will actually deliver 100% of the results that we need to turn this country around.

On standing strong and doing what's right:

I took all the flak from the media for so long, and here we are. Our kids are protected. Disney doesn't have any more special tax breaks, and we're just humming along doing great. It shows you if you're willing to stand strong and hold your ground, you can win these fights. I'll be the only guy on that stage tomorrow night who has actually dug in, fought these big fights and delivered big victories.