Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany chose Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the winner of the 2024 Republican primary debate.
The Trump-era press secretary commended DeSantis for communicating with ordinary citizens on a personal level and naming specific names during the debate.
“Who was most behooved by the debate? I think Ron DeSantis. Just reaching out to some conservatives I know across the nation, many of whom are Trump supporters and remain Trump supporters,” McEnany said. “But I said ‘who was on the stage, who do you like?’ Ron DeSantis was the takeaway. They love the fact, as one 22-year-old in that focus group said, that ‘the work was done for Ron DeSantis before he walked into the room.’ He has perhaps the best conservative record of any governor in the nation, although I would say Glenn Youngkin is also in that category. He showed that.”
“He was able to level punches against not Trump, but the ultimate opponent, which is Joe Biden. He also showed a more personal touch, which is one of the critiques of Ron DeSantis, which I think will help him.” (RELATED: Kayleigh McEnany Says DeSantis Should ‘Get In’ Presidential Race ‘Now’)
During the debate, DeSantis told the story of an Angel Mom named Tracey in Texas who had lost her son after he took one Percocet that was laced with fentanyl. McEnany praised DeSantis earlier for telling personal stories of the American people by arguing it reflects the meaning of being President of the United States.
Governor @RonDeSantis on several occasions has invoked the personal stories of American people…
A woman he met who survived an abortion.
An angel mom who lost her son to fentanyl because of the cartels.
He continually turns it from the Politicians to the People.
What…
— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) August 24, 2023
DeSantis also told the story of an abortion survivor named Penny while calling to stop the Democrats’ abortion proposals.
“Elections are about people. They’re not about politicians, and to actually hear the names of people in a succinct way, to hear their stories from a politician was powerful,” McEnany said. “It’s one thing that former President Trump really excels at when he does these off-the-record stops. I know he went to a Dairy Queen and he says ‘what the heck is a blizzard?’ and this viral moment and he’s very good at this retail politics. And to succeed in a GOP primary, you’ve got to be good at that and to make this about people was a huge win for Ron DeSantis.”
McEnany said Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy appeared to have overstepped his boundaries by accusing all of the candidates of being “bought and paid for.” She argued DeSantis’ conflict with Disney proves Ramaswamy wrong.
“I think it’s hard to make the argument that someone who took on Disney, some would say to his own peril, [that] Ron DeSantis is bought and paid for. Also, he seems to be trying to mimic the style of President Trump. There’s one thing I know. You can never out-Trump Trump. There’s one Donald Trump. He is beloved and if his ultimate goal is to win the GOP nomination, you’ve got to get beyond President Trump. But I don’t see how you do that if you’re Vivek.”