DeSantis campaign seizes on Haley debate performance: Falling ‘into the backdrop’

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama — Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R-FL) campaign took a victory lap after Wednesday’s fourth Republican National Committee primary debate, emphasizing the event as evidence of his ability to win the nomination and claiming former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has “zero pathway to win a single state.”

Inside the spin room following the NewsNation debate in Alabama, DeSantis’s Deputy Campaign Manager David Polyansky revealed the words “donor remorse” written in his notebook. He claimed to have jotted it down prior to the event, predicting some of Haley’s newfound donors would regret their decision to back her.

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“This is a hard business, and to defeat Donald Trump you have to be able to step on that stage, defend your record, defend your position, and fight back,” Polyansky said. “And tonight, [Haley] showed when it mattered the most she was unable to do that.”

Conversely, Polyansky said DeSantis was able to do so.

“That’s a big difference,” he said. “And that’s what voters are looking for.”

Despite the Florida governor receiving critiques during the debate from former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for not sufficiently answering questions, his Communications Director Andrew Romeo said, “I think he 100% was answering the questions.”

In fact, Romeo said, “The person that wasn’t answering any questions was Nikki Haley.”

Haley either fell “into the backdrop” or gave no answers when her record was being scrutinized, Romeo said.

DeSantis was also hit, along with Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy, for being afraid to attack former President Donald Trump.

“This is the problem with my three colleagues,” Christie said during the debate. “They’re afraid to offend Donald Trump.”

Polyansky pushed back on that following the event, saying DeSantis’s campaign has been consistently critical of Trump.

“The better question is why is Nikki Haley refusing to attack Donald Trump?” he said. “I think we all have our own suspicions.”

One of Haley’s top surrogates and endorsers, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), however, said she responded remarkably to her critics.

“It showed why she’s on the uprise, why she will be the nominee, why she will close the gap with President Trump and it was on full display tonight,” he said.

Of the barrage of attacks she faced Wednesday, Norman said, “This just makes her feistier, in her own words. It makes her more committed. And yes, she can handle it. This would be a preview of coming attractions.”

Further, Norman noted that the attacks are coming as Haley continues to rise in the polls and gain new donors.

“Look, none of this would happen if she were going down in the places,” Norman said.

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“Where was this criticism back in February when she announced?” he asked. “It was nowhere to be seen.”

A post-debate 538/Washington Post/Ipsos poll revealed that 30% of viewers thought DeSantis performed the best. However, 23% said Haley did the best during the event. The third-largest share of respondents said Christie’s performance was the best, and the fourth-largest deemed Ramaswamy the best debate performer.