DeSantis blames media coverage for falling poll numbers

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has pointed the finger at an unfavorable media response to his campaign to explain his falling poll numbers in the Republican primary.

"Well, I think if you look at the people like the corporate media, who are they going after? Who do they not want to be the nominee? They're going after me," he said Thursday on Fox News. 

"I think if you look at all these people that are responsible for a lot of the ills in our society, they're targeting me as the person they don't want to see as the candidate," he continued.

DeSantis repeated his oft-touted claim that he is more electable than former President Donald Trump and can defeat President Joe Biden in 2024.

"I think it's pretty clear that I'm the guy that not only can beat Biden, I'm the guy that can beat the left on all these different issues because people's freedoms are under assault," he said. Recent polling has cast significant doubt on that assertion.

In a head-to-head matchup, DeSantis trails Biden by 1.0% in RealClearPolitics polling average. By contrast, Trump leads Biden by 0.6% on average. In the race for the Republican Party nomination, Trump leads DeSantis by an average 32.1% in that metric.

The Florida governor saw his presidential prospects increase in the wake of his landslide reelection in formerly purple Florida last year. His presidential campaign, however, has largely failed to gain ground over Trump, even as the ex-commander-in-chief battles multiple indictments.

Most polls, however, do show DeSantis as the strongest contender against Trump for the party nomination, though at least one poll has shown tech mogul Vivek Ramaswamy surging to 10% support, closing in on DeSantis for second place.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.