DeSantis deems Harris campaign as ‘biggest gaslighting attempt’ in US politics

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) argued that Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2024 presidential campaign is making the “biggest gaslighting attempt” on voters, questioning whether or not they will fall for it come Election Day.

The Florida governor claimed that the Harris campaign is attempting to show voters that she is offering a fresh start for the country, even though she has been part of the Biden administration for the last three and a half years. DeSantis’s assessment comes after Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), former President Donald Trump’s running mate, argued that voters see Harris as “more of the same” that they had under President Joe Biden.

“They are taking a vice president of the United States, who they are claiming is this fresh, new voice that’s going to solve all the nation’s problems that she had such an important hand in creating in the first place!” DeSantis said on Fox News’s Hannity. “She cast the tiebreaking vote for Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus that fueled inflation; she was the border czar that saw record numbers of people coming in, so it is, I think, an IQ test for the public; are you really going to buy this, because it ain’t credible!”

DeSantis also spoke critically of Harris’s running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), describing him as Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) “on steroids” for his “Draconian COVID policies.” He rebuked the governor for calling people to respect their neighbors during his Democratic National Convention speech, even though Walz created “a snitch line” for Minnesota residents to call the police on neighbors not following COVID-19 protocols.

Going forward into the 2024 election cycle, DeSantis said he is excited for the upcoming debate between Trump and “vice president word salad” Harris, which is set for Sept. 10. DeSantis doubted that Harris would be able to debate for 90 minutes, and that the debate gives Trump “a great opportunity” to show the public why she should not be president.

DeSantis had sought a presidential run in the Republican primary last year, but dropped his bid after the Iowa caucuses in January, giving his endorsement to Trump.

The former president is set to campaign in Arizona, a major swing state in this election, on Friday, capping off a week of visiting other swing states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and North Carolina. Noticeably, Independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. is hosting a campaign event in Phoenix, Arizona, on the same day, with some reports claiming he will announce the suspension of his campaign and endorse Trump.