Tallahassee, FL - The dishonest media refuses to report the facts surrounding Ron DeSantis' comments. Governor DeSantis challenged all of us in the conservative movement to be focused on substance and based in principle. Each candidate competing for our party's nomination for president should be held to these standards as they seek to earn every one of our votes. Here is the full transcript of DeSantis' remarks:
“So there will be people who are huge Trump supporters, like in Congress, who have incredibly liberal left-wing records that is really just atrocious, and yet they're viewed by some of these folks as like, really, really good. Then you have other people, you know, like a Congressman Chip Roy, who has endorsed me, Congressman Thomas Massie. These guys have records of principle fighting the swamp that are second to none. And yet, they will be attacked by some of these people and called RINOs. So it's just been totally detached from any type of substance. And ultimately, a movement can't be about the personality of one individual. The movement has got to be about what are you trying to achieve on behalf of the American people? And that's got to be based in principle. Because if you're not rooted in principle, if all we are is listless vessels that are just supposed to follow whatever happens to come down the pike on Truth Social every morning, that's not going to be a durable movement.”
“The dishonest media refuses to report the facts—Donald Trump and some congressional endorsers are ‘listless vessels.' Why? Because Trump and DC insiders feel he is entitled to your vote. Ron DeSantis believes your trust should be earned and has the vision, plan, and record to beat Joe Biden and reverse the decline of our country. That's why Ron DeSantis will be showing up on Wednesday night to debate, and Donald Trump will not.” - Press Secretary Bryan Griffin
Ron DeSantis, DeSantis Campaign Press Release - The Dishonest Media Refuses to Report the Facts Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/364711