Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
Steven Ferdman/Getty Images
Gov. Ron DeSantis canceled his scheduled Sunday appearances on NBC and CNN.Instead, he went to South Carolina, where GOP primaries will take place in late February.The Florida governor has fallen behind both Nikki Haley and Donald Trump.
GOP presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis canceled planned appearances on cable news channels Sunday morning as his campaign makes what appears to be a final play for relevancy.
The Florida governor was scheduled to appear on both CNN and NBC ahead of the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday but canceled both, citing a “last-minute schedule change,” according to NBC’s Kristen Welker.
“Gov. Ron DeSantis has pulled out of his #MTP appearance tomorrow morning due to what a person familiar says is a last-minute schedule change. Per his campaign, he will now hold an event in New Hampshire tomorrow evening. He is currently campaigning in South Carolina,” Welker posted on X on Saturday evening.
Primaries for both parties will take place on Tuesday in New Hampshire. The Republican primary in South Carolina will occur in late February. CNN reported the latter will be the “last stand” for the DeSantis campaign.
“I’m asking for your support as we get into this primary next month,” DeSantis told voters in a restaurant in Florence, South Carolina on Saturday, according to CNN. “I’ll be a candidate that will be able to bring our party together up and down the ballot, just like I did in Florida.”
Once considered a leading Republican presidential contender, DeSantis has fallen slightly behind candidate Nikki Haley and well behind the GOP frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, despite his multiple indictments. The Florida governor’s performance at the Iowa caucus was disappointing and has fueled speculation that his days on the campaign trail are numbered.
“What we did in Iowa, we did make an impression,” DeSantis said after the Iowa caucus. “I had people come up to me saying, ‘I love you, man. I’m gonna do Trump this time and do you next time.'”