The Washington Post/ABC News released a poll showing former President Donald Trump leading President Joe Biden by 10 points, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspects that is effectively a narrative-driven poll result.
Polls are showing a desire to push narratives to get Trump the GOP nomination and potentially drive Biden out of running for reelection, DeSantis told Newsmax's Addison Smith in a one-on-one interview that aired in part on "Newsline."
"Just understand, the media — if he ends up being the nominee, they will not be putting polls out like that; it'll be the opposite," DeSantis said. "I mean, they use this to juice a narrative."
DeSantis pointed to the poll results showing Trump leading Biden among voters under 35 by 20 points as begging the question about the narrative goals behind publishing a self-described "outlier" result.
"I think people were showing that that poll had Trump beating Biden with under 35 by 20 points: No Republican has even won that, so when you see that you wonder, OK, what are they trying to do?" DeSantis continued. "I think they're trying to do two things: I think the corporate press does want Trump to be the nominee. I think you see that in the coverage of that. I think you also see that in how they attack me. But I also think they're trying to get the Democrats to dislodge Biden."
The "corporate press" is trying to turn Democrats away from a Biden reelection campaign to get another candidate like California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom in the race, according to DeSantis.
"They want to show that Biden is weak, and they would like to see a Newsom or somebody else," he added. "So I think when the corporate press is doing this, I think people should take it with a grain of salt, absolutely."
DeSantis has already been geared up for a Newsom run, having already committed to a Nov. 30 debate with the California Democrat at 9 p.m. ET.
"That's why, you know, he said he would debate me, so I said, 'Let's do it,'" DeSantis continued. "We're waiting for the date. Hopefully, we'll be able to do it, you know, within the next month or two. I think it's an important debate for the country – not like saying who's better Florida or California, because that debate is over."
The migration numbers away from California and to Florida has shown people have already voted in that debate "with their feet," DeSantis said.
"They've left California and come to Florida not the other way around. He has lost massive amounts of population. No governor in California history has ever witnessed population loss at all on net and he's had it and that's because of the policies he's driving people away.
"But what's the future for the country? The future for the country for what the left would want to do is just double down on the California policies. And so I think it's being important debate. I think he's definitely angling for it."
Biden will not just "step down willingly," DeSantis concluded. "I think it's harder to dislodge somebody who's an incumbent president and people assume it would be, but I think the Democrat establishment really, really is concerned, particularly, you know, if they have to run against somebody like me.
"I think that their view on Trump is that he will help energize their base to come out in ways that maybe some other Republicans won't. I don't know that that's true, per se, the way they're thinking it.
"But they do think that, so I think they're looking for, How do we get away from this? Because, you know, Biden is floundering on the world stage. I mean, it's been really embarrassing to see what he's doing."
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