Ron DeSantis to Sit Down With CNN’s Jake Tapper for Rare Interview – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is broadening the media approach of his presidential campaign by scheduling an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper this week. The purpose of this interview is to narrow the polling disparity between him and former President Donald Trump. Taking place on Tuesday, the interview will coincide with the conclusion of a policy announcement in South Carolina.
It will also air shortly after reports surfaced about the DeSantis campaign releasing roughly a dozen staffers. Ever since commencing his campaign in May, DeSantis has primarily restricted his media appearances to platforms that lean conservative and local news sources in states where early voting takes place.
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Critics, including former Fox News host Megyn Kelly, have criticized the Florida governor for not actively engaging with journalists who are more likely to pose challenging questions and adopt an adversarial approach. “There are people within the media who are still seeking the truth; we will engage with them. And we look forward to getting our message out there to the American people,” Bryan Griffin, a spokesperson for the DeSantis campaign, told The Post of the Tapper interview.
Tapper has interviewed DeSantis in the past, while Trump hasn’t had a sit-down with “The Lead” host since making controversial remarks about the Ku Klux Klan in 2016. The DeSantis campaign asserts that the upcoming CNN interview does not signify a change in strategy. They emphasize that their initial focus was on fundraising before expanding their media outreach. Just recently, the campaign proudly announced a remarkable fundraising achievement, with a staggering $20 million collected within the first six weeks after DeSantis entered the race on May 24th.
“The corporate media has gotten a lot wrong, and many outlets have an agenda. Therefore, we don’t consider them entitled to time or access,” Griffin said. “Nonetheless there are many good journalists and truth-seeking reporters, including in mainstream media outlets, and we will work with them on our terms. That’s always been the plan.”
During his campaign, DeSantis has provided interviews to a few reporters outside of conservative media, such as NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez. However, he has not engaged with anyone of the same caliber as Tapper, who is CNN’s prominent anchor in Washington and co-host of the Sunday news program “State of the Union.” Chris Licht, the recently removed former head of CNN, notably aimed to improve relations between the network and prominent Republicans by reducing partisan biases in its coverage.
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CNN has started organizing town halls featuring potential Republican candidates for the 2024 presidential race, including Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley. As of now, the DeSantis campaign has chosen not to participate in CNN’s town hall events. “We don’t do anything just because everybody else does it. But we’re open to a wide range of media options, and if the relationship can get to a point where we feel like it would be worth our time, we’ll do it,” Griffin told The Post.