Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' campaign has canceled his scheduled Sunday appearances on CNN's "State of the Union" and NBC News' "Meet the Press," the networks announced Saturday evening.
"Unfortunately, tomorrow's scheduled interview on @CNNSOTU w/ @RonDeSantis was canceled by the campaign. We look forward to having the Governor join us on the show in the near future," CNN posted on X Saturday.
Likewise, "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker posted on X Saturday that DeSantis pulled out of a Sunday appearance with her "due to what a person familiar" with the campaign said was a "last-minute schedule change."
The governor is currently campaigning in South Carolina and has scheduled an event in Manchester, New Hampshire, Sunday night.
DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin posted on X, "The media hits were canceled due to a scheduling issue and will be rescheduled. The governor will be traveling Sunday morning with the campaign and has public events scheduled Sunday evening through Tuesday in NH.
Meanwhile, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who is campaigning in New Hampshire ahead of Tuesday's primary, is still scheduled to appear on CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday.
DeSantis, meanwhile, has been in South Carolina, where he is polling at 9.4%, compared to 5.9% in New Hampshire.
"South Carolina has the luxury of being first in the South and following behind New Hampshire and Iowa that usually generally clear the field, and then South Carolina makes the ultimate decision [on the nominee]," said South Carolina Republican strategist Alex Stroman, reported The Hill.
Earlier this week, a DeSantis campaign official confirmed that the campaign was shifting most of its staff to South Carolina, where political experts say a win could more strongly predict the eventual GOP nominee.
Stroman said that even though Haley's home state is South Carolina, the state will not "reward a South Carolinian just for being from the state." But he also agreed that DeSantis should have focused more energy on the state rather than on the Iowa caucuses.
Former President Donald Trump, who is leading by double digits in most polls, has already snatched endorsements from most of South Carolina's political leaders from Haley, including Sens. Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham, Gov. Henry McMaster, and three of the state's GOP House representatives. Her lone congressional endorsement in the state has come from Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C.
Meanwhile, DeSantis' campaign and surrogates are pushing back against claims that he is "skipping" New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary in favor of South Carolina.
Following the reports of DeSantis turning his attention to South Carolina, his campaign has been pushing back against the idea that he has been "skipping" New Hampshire, where he has been polling in clear third place.
He told Fox News that he traveled to South Carolina after Iowa because there was an availability present.
"So we went to South Carolina, knocked out a couple of events, and then did what we were planning to do in New Hampshire. That was somehow caricatured as 'skipping' New Hampshire when it wasn't. It was adding South Carolina in addition to that," DeSantis said.
New Hampshire state Sen. Regina Birdsell, speaking on behalf of his campaign, told Newsmax Saturday that DeSantis has been spending "plenty of time" in the Granite State, while pointing out that he was the only candidate to agree to a pre-primary debate there.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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