During an interview on Sunday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis criticized NBC News presenter Kristen Welker for her repeated attempts to have him referee remarks made by former President Donald Trump.
From the beginning, the interview on “Meet The Press” was antagonistic; Welker repeatedly requested that DeSantis reply to Trump instead of discussing matters pertinent to the presidential primary.
“Well, I think even beyond that, the issue is — is why are you running? 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.” DeSantis stated.
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
“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. 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.” he added.
Welker then tried to force DeSantis to condemn Trump for calling some of his adversaries ‘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. 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.” DeSantis replied.
[READ MORE: Newsom Accuses DeSantis, Hannity of ‘Cheating’ After Dismal Debate Performance]
