Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is once again showing he has some fairly good political instincts.
During a gubernatorial debate on Monday, Democratic candidate Charlie Crist saw an opening to attack DeSantis by bringing up speculation he might run for president in 2024.
A common question with rising stars who seem to have presidential aspirations is whether or not they will stay in office for their term, or if it would be cut short by the ascension to a higher office.
“Ron, you talk about Joe Biden a lot. I understand you think you’re going to be running against him. I can see how you might get confused. But you’re running for governor,” Crist began.
He asked, “Why don’t you look in the eyes of the people of the state of Florida and say to them if you’re re-elected, you will serve a full four-year term as governor of Florida. Yes or no?”
DeSantis did not respond, but stood relatively still and remained silent with a straight face.
“Yes or no, Ron?” Crist pressed. “Will you serve a full four-year term if you’re re-elected governor of Florida?”
He added, “It’s not a tough question. It’s a fair question. He won’t tell you.”
Watch the video below:
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1584689004653744130
Finally, the moderator chimed in to note there had not been an agreement on whether candidates could ask each other questions.
DeSantis then responded with a dodge — but a rather hilarious one.
“Well, listen, I know that Charlie’s interested in talking about 2024 and Joe Biden,” he said, adding, “But I just want to make things very, very clear, the only worn-out, old donkey I’m looking to put out to pasture is Charlie Crist.”
The audience roared with a mixture of laughter and cheers in response, and the quip even elicited a little smirk from Crist.
Again, it’s not a straightforward answer. And perhaps DeSantis really has not made up his mind about a 2024 run and does not want to box himself in if he decides to run for president.
But humor is a great way of defusing a question and avoiding an awkward verbal dance and trying not to say something that might come back to haunt you later.
And it highlights his combination of being willing to “fight” with a sense of humor and light-heartedness that could be appealing to voters in 2024 — if he does decide to run for president.