CNN's Jake Tapper is scheduled to interview 2024 GOP challenger and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday, the New York Post reports.
"There are people within the media who are still seeking the truth; we will engage with them," DeSantis campaign spokesman Bryan Griffin told the Post about the planned interview. "And we look forward to getting our message out there to the American people."
According to the Post, DeSantis will sit down with the CNN host on Tuesday, shortly after rolling out policy positions in South Carolina and just days after firing a dozen staffers.
In announcing the interview on its cable network, CNN said Tapper will talk with the governor following a campaign event in Columbia, South Carolina, Tuesday afternoon during Tapper's 4 p.m. show "The Lead."
According to the report, DeSantis has raised $20 million in the second quarter of 2023, less than the $35 million raised by former President Donald Trump, the front-runner in the race.
The political polling website FiveThirtyEight has Trump leading the GOP primary field with 49.7% and DeSantis a distant second place with 21%.
The campaign told the Post that it focused on fundraising before "branching out" to media interviews with reporters they feel are "truth-seeking."
"The corporate media has gotten a lot wrong, and many outlets have an agenda. Therefore, we don't consider them entitled to time or access," Griffin told the Post. "Nonetheless, there are many good journalists and truth-seeking reporters, including in mainstream media outlets, and we will work with them on our terms. That's always been the plan."
The move also comes after NBC News reported Saturday that the campaign fired at least a dozen staffers, with more expected after costing the campaign some $8 million of its $20 million raised in the second quarter.
The report said the campaign hired the staff "too early" and included mid-level and a couple of senior members, namely David Abrams and Tucker Obenshain.
"They never should have brought so many people on, the burn rate was way too high," one Republican source familiar with the campaign's thought process told the news outlet. "People warned the Campaign Manager [Generra Peck], but she wanted to hear none of it."
According to the report, it's not the first time DeSantis has shaken up his campaign staff.
The source told NBC he has a "penchant" for changing staff and had a "huge shake-up" during his 2018 gubernatorial campaign, as well as a different team for each of his three Congressional runs.
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