Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis campaigned in New Hampshire on Thursday, marking his first visit as a presidential candidate.
The governor fielded loaded questions from the media… and he didn’t even try to hide his confusion.
One reporter asked him, “Why not take any questions from voters governor? Governor, how come you’re not taking questions from voters?”
DeSantis heard the question while taking a photo with… a voter.
Then, DeSantis lashed out.
“People are coming up to me, talking to me, what are you talking about? I’m not here [inaudible] with people? Are you blind?” DeSantis said. “Are you blind? People are coming up to me, talking to me whatever they want to talk to me about.”
DeSantis saw his response recorded by NBC News, and he went viral.
The governor’s press secretary has called the incident “perfectly illustrative of the modern media shutting their eyes and ears to the truth to push their narrative.”
One supporter said, “I’m appreciative of a candidate that can put the media in their place.”
Even some of the governor’s critics have acknowledged that DeSantis mingled with voters after leaving the stage, rather than simply taking the questions onstage.
Take a look at this video of DeSantis “not taking questions from voters” —
After declining to take audience questions after his first New Hampshire campaign event today, Ron DeSantis lashed out at a reporter for asking him about it while he was chatting with members of the crowd individually.
Here’s the video, via @NBCNews —> pic.twitter.com/Z2WtLy0JNj
— Jonathan Allen (@jonallendc) June 1, 2023
The Granite State has historically held the first presidential primary in both parties. Naturally, voters of New Hampshire have become known for questioning candidates at town halls, like Trump’s event on CNN last month.
On Thursday, DeSantis spoke directly to the local voters when acknowledging that New Hampshire, like Florida, does not collect personal income taxes. “You’ve got this one little outpost in New England that’s holding the line,” he said.
In fact, DeSantis was interacting with New Hampshire voters even before his campaign announcement!
Chatting with a mom in a New Hampshire diner on May 19, DeSantis paid no attention to the Mickey Mouse shirt worn by the woman’s young son. But the woman said she has been paying attention to him.
“If DeSantis announced a campaign to run for president I would probably vote for him over anybody else,” Jillian Sybert, of Deerfield, later told the Associated Press at the time.
“New Hampshire is good in a lot of ways but it could be better, and it would be nice to see that at the federal level as well,” she said.
It remains to be seen how DeSantis will fare in New Hampshire, where independents can vote in the Republican primary.
Sybert, of Deerfield, said she considers herself an independent voter and would probably back DeSantis if he gets in the race because of his “stance on freedom.” She said she was disappointed about the failed state legislation and hopes the next president will champion the issue.
New Hampshire voted for Trump in the presidential primary, but it voted against him twice in the general election. However, since 2021, the GOP has controlled both the governor’s mansion and each chamber of the state legislature.
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.