Ron DeSantis ‘reboots’ campaign by hitting on Biden family – shames president for not visiting secret granddaughter, says there will be no COCAINE in White House – but won’t punch Trump

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ rebooted campaign features plenty of zingers on the Biden family, more Q&As — with voters and reporters — but no jabs at former President Donald Trump, on a day when Biden’s arch-rival 2024 hopeful faced even more legal issues

DeSantis toured the state Thursday in his “Never Back Down” campaign bus, ending the day at the Revelton Distilling Co. in Osceola, a small town south of Des Moines.

“When I’m president, we won’t allow any cocaine in the White House,” he exclaimed as he took the stage, receiving scattered cheers from the crowd.

Although there was no evidence that the cocaine found near the crisis room belonged to Biden’s troubled son Hunter, a recovering crack addict, DeSantis linked it to the first son by immediately referencing his own children.

“I have to say that I have a 6, 5 and 3 year old child that my wife and I chase around the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee and so I can’t necessarily promise that there won’t be any problems in the White Maison with them,” he said. “But it’s like marking on the wall. I’ve got the magic eraser. We can handle it.

The Florida governor took another twist on Biden’s messy family while explaining that parents should be the ones making key decisions about their children’s curriculum.

‘Wait a minute, who are you to decide these are your children?’ he said of Biden. “And first of all, he’s a guy who hasn’t even visited his granddaughter in Arkansas.”

DeSantis referenced White House cocaine – although there is no evidence it belonged to Hunter Biden (left) – and mocked President Joe Biden (right) for not to have ever visited his seventh grandchild in Arkansas

The president did not acknowledge his seventh grandchild, the product of a relationship with Arkansas woman Lunden Roberts and Hunter, when the first son was at the peak of his addiction.

DeSantis mentioned Hunter Biden again, refuting the idea that he was banning books in Florida.

“In Florida, you can get all the books you want…if you want to watch adult material, don’t stick it in someone’s fifth-grade class, go watch Hunter’s laptop for whatever I want,” DeSantis said with a laugh.

As part of trying to make a name for himself as an anti-revival crusader, DeSantis has spoken out against “critical race theory” and what he calls “gender ideology,” the latter of which liberals argue that she teaches children that it is okay to be gay or transgender.

On Thursday night, DeSantis spoke again about the importance of a “one standard of justice in this country.”

“You know, if Hunter Biden was a Republican he would probably be in jail three years ago and yet he’s now trying to get a plea deal. But that judge actually objected to it, which surprised me,’ he said, referring to Wednesday’s federal court hearing in Delaware, where the deal of the first son’s plea was suspended.

Lunden Roberts (pictured, right) has a daughter with Hunter Biden, who was conceived during the first son’s dependency period

Lunden Roberts is pictured with her daughter who she had with first son Hunter Biden

DeSantis’ comments Thursday night came after a major twist in Trump’s legal troubles.

As the country awaits an expected third indictment of the former president – this time on charges related to election interference and Jan. 6 – Special Counsel Jack Smith has piled additional charges into the 32-count indictment related to Trump’s mishandling of classified documents.

The new superseding indictment says federal prosecutors found evidence Trump, “the boss,” told his aides to “delete” security footage from Mar-a-Lago’s servers.

It was a startling claim after Trump continued to lash out at former Democratic rival Hillary Clinton for her own wiping – or “acid washing” – of her private email server before forwarding the emails. emails to federal authorities.

In Osceola, DeSantis answered questions from potential Iowa voters, but did not contact the press.

Earlier, in a chat with reporters, he brushed off a question about Trump’s potential third indictment.

Talk to the Messenger in Lamoni, Iowa, DeSantis said he didn’t want to discuss Trump’s cases and said it was best to focus on “what’s going to happen in the future.”

“It’s not on the minds of voters,” the Florida governor said. “So I don’t really talk about it, because I try to focus on things that really interest them.”

At Thursday night’s town hall, DeSantis answered questions from attendees about artificial intelligence, said he would roll back electric cars — to appease Iowa’s pro-ethanol crowd — and how he, in as president, would work across the aisle.

For the latter, he highlighted raising teachers’ salaries in Florida and working on environmental restoration projects like he had as governor of the Everglades.

He also indicated he would be open to a suggestion from the crowd — making Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds a running mate.

‘Make it number 2!’ shouted a male member of the crowd, when Reynolds’ name was mentioned.

“Do you think she would be a good No. 2?” DeSantis said with a smile.

DeSantis Iowa’s bus tour – sponsored by his associate PAC, ‘Never Back Down’ – comes after he scaled back his campaign, cutting 38 campaign staffers as the $20 million raised in just six weeks was quickly spent.

Described as clumsy on the stump, DeSantis is trying to engage in more traditional Iowa politics, to see if he can finally make headway in eating away at Trump’s dominating lead in a state that’s likely to make or break. the 44-year-old man. presidential campaign.

As he kicked off his tour, Trump was still one step ahead.

The latest national poll, from Marquette, showed the ex-president with a 24-point lead.