CNN contributors Ana Navarro and Scott Jennings discussed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his position in the political race during an interview with CNN’s Alex Marquardt.
The conversation revolved around the importance of black voters in President Biden’s election and the potential impact of their decreased support in his reelection prospects.
Navarro emphasized that no group, including young black Americans, wants to be taken for granted in elections.
She highlighted the need for politicians to actively engage and work on securing support from various voter demographics, including black voters, Latino voters, women voters, and others.
Navarro mentioned that Biden’s recent speech at Howard University reflects his campaign’s understanding of the importance of the black vote.
The discussion then shifted to Governor DeSantis and his political strategy.
Steve Caetano, another CNN colleague, suggested that DeSantis was avoiding direct attacks on former President Trump to avoid alienating the Trump base.
Navarro expressed her opinion that DeSantis needed to take action and engage with the race, given that the legislative session in Florida had ended, allowing him to focus on the campaign.
She criticized DeSantis for using his position to weaponize the government against entities like the judicial branch and Disneyworld, actions that had not been well-received by Floridians.
Navarro mentioned a significant concern for DeSantis, which was the decline in his support not only nationally but also within Florida itself.
She emphasized that the drop in support within his home state should be of great concern to him.
Jennings then discussed President Trump’s focus on DeSantis despite other candidates like Nikki Haley and Asa Hutchinson being in the field.
He pointed out that these candidates had low polling numbers and lacked the same positive name recognition as DeSantis.
Jennings highlighted DeSantis as the only candidate in double digits and mentioned that Trump’s strategy might be to dispatch DeSantis early to prevent him from consolidating the Trump lane of the Republican Party.
However, Jennings also acknowledged that DeSantis shouldn’t be underestimated, as there is still a long way to go in the race.
Overall, the discussion between Navarro and Jennings provided insights into the importance of voter support, the political strategies of DeSantis and Trump, and the dynamics within the Republican Party’s candidate field.
