The campaign of Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential hopeful, has criticized the media for what it perceives as “election interference.” This criticism follows the decision by several media outlets, including CNN, to declare former President Donald Trump the winner of the Iowa caucus prematurely.
CNN made this declaration just 30 minutes after the caucus began and with only a minimal percentage of the votes counted, a move that was quickly followed by other major news networks.
Andrew Romeo, a member of DeSantis’ team, condemned the media’s rapid decision, arguing that it prevented many Iowa voters from participating in the election process. He suggested that this early call was a stark example of media bias in favor of Trump.
Matt Wolking, working for the pro-DeSantis super PAC, Never Back Down, criticized CNN specifically, claiming that the network had violated its editorial guidelines by declaring a winner before a significant number of votes had been cast. He cited CNN’s past policy against calling election outcomes before all polling stations close.
David Weigel from Semafor also expressed skepticism about the early call, noting the potential influence on voters who were still at the caucus sites. As of the latest update, Trump is leading with 52.5% of the vote in Iowa, with DeSantis trailing at 20%. The DeSantis campaign continues to argue that such premature media declarations can unduly influence the voting process.
Furthermore, DeSantis has recently spotlighted his opposition to certain educational policies, citing his confrontation with Disney over gender identity topics in schools, a stance he believes has benefited children.