Rebecca Wright/CNN
Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis participates in a CNN Republican Town Hall moderated by CNNâs Kaitlan Collins at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday, January 4, 2024.
CNN
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sought to stake out clear differences with former President Donald Trump in a CNN town hall Thursday night, telling Iowa voters they’re “not going to have to worry about my conduct.”
A week and a half from the Iowa caucuses, DeSantis fielded questions in the town hall moderated by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, another leading 2024 Republican presidential primary contender, is also appearing at a CNN town hall Thursday night.
DeSantis staked out some new policy ground, saying he supports a “flat tax” — a single national income tax rate, with no deductions or exemptions — and would abolish the Internal Revenue Service.
He largely dropped the references to culture wars that marked the early months of his presidential campaign.
And he told voters he’d represent a departure from the drama of Trump’s presidency and his time as the GOP standard-bearer.
“If you nominate me, I’ll get elected, I’ll serve, and we won’t even be discussing these issues. We’ll be discussing your issues,” DeSantis said.
“You’re not going to have to worry about my conduct. I’ll conduct myself in a way you can be proud of,” he said. “I’ll conduct myself in a way you can tell your kid, you know, that’s somebody you should emulate.”
Here are three takeaways from the DeSantis town hall:
The DeSantis that showed up Thursday night for the town hall was not the same DeSantis from earlier in the 2024 Republican primary. He started out by giving Collins a basketball jersey. He used folksy language like “willy nilly” and “appreciate ya.” He didn’t immediately delve into social issues that he likes to talk about, like transgender healthcare bans or abortion. And the Florida governor argued that while Trump was running on issues important only to him and Haley was running for her donors, DeSantis was running for “you” – the average voter.
DeSantis also was more eager than he had previously been to warn about Trump as a nominee. “The Democrats want Trump to be the candidate,” he said.
DeSantis wasn’t working to appeal to just the most activist base Republican voters. He was looking to appeal to a broader audience. It was a marked change from DeSantis in past appearances who critics panned as overly stiff and unrelatable.
DeSantis has frequently lamented the role the federal and state indictments Trump faces have played in rallying the Republican base around him during the 2024 primary campaign.
But he warned Iowa voters Thursday night that the trials Trump is expected to face this year could damage him against President Joe Biden.
“Whatever may be beneficial in the primary doesn’t mean it’s beneficial in the general election,” DeSantis said.
“We’re putting the future of the Republican Party, and the future of the nation, perhaps, in the hands of 12 jurors in heavily Democrat DC,” he said.
The Florida governor added: “Why do we even want to go down that road? Let’s focus on your issues. Let’s focus on Biden’s failures. Let’s focus on how we’re going to turn this country around.”
Thursday’s town hall took place hours after a school shooting in Perry, Iowa in which a middle school student was killed and five others were injured. DeSantis was asked how, in light of the attack, he would address the issue of gun violence at schools without limiting gun rights.
DeSantis referred to gun reforms passed by his predecessor, GOP Gov. Rick Scott, in the weeks after the February 2018 Parkland, Florida, shooting, in which a gunman killed 17 people.
“We’ve done everything like school resource officers, help with hardening, but also help identify students that are exhibiting really problematic behavior,” DeSantis said. “We’re getting more information about what happened in Perry, but it seems like this student had some serious, serious problems.”
The Florida legislation, passed in March 2018, also raised the age limit for buying a firearm in the state from 18 to 21 and increased the waiting period to buy one to three days.
DeSantis was asked if he supports ending the three-day waiting period, a move currently backed by a Florida state senator. He said he is for instant background checks.
“You shouldn’t have to be on a mandatory waiting period,” DeSantis said. “Instant checks will do the job.”
