Monday on FNC’s “The Ingraham Angle,” Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) criticized his Republican presidential primary opponent, Donald Trump, for his claims about endorsements that DeSantis had recently received.
Trump and his supporters have alleged DeSantis received the endorsement for financial reasons.
“Governor, the allegations, obviously, or the inference here would be that it was like a pay-to-play to get an endorsement,” host Laura Ingraham said. “You have a chance to clear that up.”
“Well, this PAC I don’t control, as you know, but they paid for advertising,” DeSantis replied. “So it’s a very influential group of evangelicals in Iowa. They’ve hosted a number of major events. They had a summer event; we just had the Thanksgiving forum. So they’re paying to be able to be in programs and to be able to advertise the candidacy. And that happens, that’s frequently happen, but Bob Vander Plaats’ endorsement is not for sale. He’s got a great reputation. He’s become a friend of Casey and me along the way. He’s very influential in Iowa.”
“And so it’s a scurrilous charge without merit. And you know, if somebody endorses somebody other than you, you don’t always have to lash out and attack the person who made the endorsement. It’s a primary. People can have different choices in this, and there’s not always an ulterior motive. So I think the attacks against Bob Vander Plaats have been a bit out of bounds, just as I think the attacks against Governor Kim Reynolds have been out of bounds.
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
