The DeSantis campaign declared that Donald Trump’s victory at the Iowa Caucus was “election interference.”
After numerous outlets predicted Trump’s victory early on, Andrew Romeo, Ron DeSantis’s communications director, stated, “Absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote. The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet.”
Absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote. The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet.
— Andrew Romeo (@andrewromeo33) January 16, 2024
According to Breitbart, the race was called thirty minutes from the start of the caucus.
James Uthmeier, DeSantis’ campaign manager, said that calling the race before votes were in was “appalling.”
“I personally spoke in multiple precincts and while I’m presenting and delivering the closing argument for Ron DeSantis and actually flipping voters, people start getting alerts on their phones saying the race is over.”
“One guy said ‘why do we even bother voting, if it’s already over?’ That is absurd,” he added.
Campaign Manager @JamesUthmeierFL slams the “appalling” decision of the corporate media to call the race before all votes were cast:
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) January 16, 2024
“I personally spoke in multiple precincts and while I’m presenting and delivering the closing argument for Ron DeSantis and actually flipping… pic.twitter.com/Anv1Uc6eGt
Another campaign official told Fox News, “They threw everything at Ron DeSantis. They couldn’t kill him. He is not only still standing, but he’s now earned his ticket out of Iowa. This is going to be a long battle ahead, but that is what this campaign is built for. The stakes are too high for this nation and we will not back down.”
NEW: Statement from senior @RonDeSantis campaign official to @FoxNews:
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) January 16, 2024
"They threw everything at Ron DeSantis. They couldn’t kill him. He is not only still standing, but he’s now earned his ticket out of Iowa. This is going to be a long battle ahead, but that is what this…
Matt Wolking, strategic communications director for the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down super PAC, said that news outlets calling the race was a breach of editorial policy.
“CNN called Trump the winner of Iowa at 8:30 PM ET, before most of the state had even started voting,” he wrote on X. “‘CNN editorial policy strictly prohibits reporting winners or characterizing the outcome of a statewide contest in any state before all the polls are scheduled to close in every precinct in that state,'” he continued, quoting CNN’s policy.
“ABC News called Iowa at 7:31 PM CT, before most of the state had even started voting,” Wolking added.
Associated Press and NBC News also called the race early.
