Florida Governor-elect Byron Donalds on Sunday disagreed with Ron DeSantis’ criticism of Republicans who blame Joe Biden for expensive gasoline. He made the remarks on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Host Kristen Welker played a clip of the current governor’s remarks. DeSantis said that GOP politicians who deny the scale of the problem or shift the blame to Biden lose credibility. In his view, when someone “gaslights” voters, they don’t trust that person on other issues either. Donalds replied that he didn’t know what the governor was referring to. He added that he had not heard Republicans blaming Biden’s team for current fuel prices.
Florida Politics notes that the program showed DeSantis’ remarks in a shortened, selectively edited form. The full statement came from a CNN interview after the Republicans’ election defeat. In it, DeSantis also pointed to an earlier rise in prices after the pandemic, which he links to a weakening dollar. According to the outlet, NBC also left out his criticism of the conflict with Iran from the same interview.
According to Florida Politics, Donalds acknowledged in the interview that gas prices have risen recently because of the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. Even so, he maintained his disagreement with part of DeSantis’ remarks. The Tampa Free Press describes the episode as a public rift between leading Republicans in Florida. The outlet reports that Donalds also pointed to the election results, which he said “speak for themselves.”
DeSantis spoke about gas and Iran on Election Day. He argued then that higher fuel prices hit working families and result from the conflict with Iran. According to AAA data cited by Clash Report, the national average price was $4.15 per gallon. Before the war, it was $2.98.
Donalds won the race for governor this week. According to NBC, he will be Florida’s first Black governor. On the program, he also spoke about preparations to take over from DeSantis. Asked about 2028, he replied that it is still 2026.
Source: Florida Politics
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Source: Słoneczne Radio
