Florida Governor Ron DeSantis slammed NBC News host Kristen Welker during an interview on Sunday after she repeatedly tried to get him to referee remarks made by former President Donald Trump.
The interview on the network’s “Meet The Press” was combative from the outset, and included Welker repeatedly asking DeSantis to respond to Trump rather than address issues relevant to the presidential primary.
“Well, I think even beyond that, the issue is — is why are you running?” DeSantis said. “Are you running for your personal issues? Are you running for the American people’s issues? And I’m running for the American people’s issues. And now, part of that is this government is out of control. We have seen weaponization of agencies, like the DOJ, and the FBI and the IRS. I am going to end that weaponization.”
“But that’s not because I’m doing it for me; it’s because I’m doing it for the people that have been under the thumb of these agencies,” he continued. “And I’m going to restore the rule of law. So, I think if Donald Trump is saying his whole thing is retribution for himself, well, what about all the other people that have had issues with that? Is that somebody – are those people he’s going to be standing up with? So I don’t think you can say it’s about “your enemies.” I think you’ve got to say it’s about the American people’s future. And the goal is to end weaponization, period, and to have a single standard of justice employed, not to basically do what we don’t like is being done now, just in a different direction.”
From that point on, Welker proceed to push DeSantis five times to condemn Trump for calling some of his political enemies “vermin.”
“I don’t use the term. But what I don’t do is play the media’s game, where I’m asked to referee other people,” DeSantis fired back. “He’s responsible for his words. He’s responsible for his conduct. I’m responsible for mine. But I will tell you, more important than the choice of words is: Why are you running? If he’s running for personal retribution, that is not going to lead to what we need as a country.”
“You’ve got to be running for the American people and their issues, not about your own personal issues,” he added. “And that is a distinction between us. I am focused on the folks. I am focused on what they want to see done for this country in a positive direction. I’m the vessel, but ultimately, it’s not about me.”
WATCH:
WATCH: Former President Trump has called his opponents “vermin.”@kwelkernbc: Do you condemn the use of that word?
Gov. @RonDeSantis (R-Fla.): “I don’t use the term. … He's responsible for his words. He's responsible for his conduct. I'm responsible for mine.” pic.twitter.com/Trgt5UWPH6
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) December 3, 2023