DeSantis, critical of his GOP adversaries’ campaign strategies, reminds voters he is still in race

NEWS AND OPINION:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appears to be looking askance at his competition in the presidential race at the moment — and for one reason in particular.

“I’m the only candidate at this point who’s not running a basement campaign. President Biden obviously is nowhere to be found, as expected. Donald Trump doesn’t debate or take questions. And now Nikki Haley won’t debate or take questions from voters,” Mr. DeSantis told “Good Morning New Hampshire,” a daily talk radio program heard on several news stations in the Granite State.

“In the last few days, I’ve been in New Hampshire taking questions from voters, taking as many questions as I can get. I think that’s what Granite Staters expect,” Mr. DeSantis said.

“You’ve got to do what you got to do,” he said — also revealing that the campaign trail can be a challenging place.

“I’ve been taking it from all sides. But you know what? I’m still here,” he concluded in the conversation, which took place Thursday.

DEFANGING THE DEBT

“For the past several years, the federal government has relied on stopgap spending bills while running trillion-dollar deficits, causing the national debt to balloon to more than $34 trillion and the country’s finances to fall into further disrepair. Sooner or later, the spending madness must stop or the United States will face a very harsh economic reality,” warns the Heartland Institute, a free market think tank based in Chicago.

“Fortunately, there is still time to avoid a debt crisis while getting the country’s economic house back in order. However, this will require something Congress has been unwilling to do over the past few decades: cutting spending,” the organization said in a written statement to Inside the Beltway.

It also offers a new report by economist Darren Brady Nelson titled “CPI-X: A Novel Method to Decrease Spending and the National Debt,” which the organization calls an “objective and politically feasible plan” to reduce spending back to 2008 levels.

“Essentially, the solution would tether federal spending to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), using the CPI as a baseline, and achieving actual spending cuts via the “X” in the equation. The X-factors in CPI-X are derived from benchmarking the spending of the U.S. federal government, states, and other countries along 10 basic policy areas,” the statement said.

“The cuts would begin in 2025 and finish in 2038, at which point the national debt would be completely paid down and taxpayers would receive $19,347 in annual relief,” it declared.

Find the report at Heartland.org.

WHY THEY MARCH

The 51st annual March for Life takes place Friday on the National Mall with a speaker’s list that includes House Speaker Mike Johnson, Rep. Chris Smith, former NFL star Benjamin Watson and Jim Daly, president and CEO of Focus on the Family.

“March for Life is a non-sectarian organization that promotes the beauty and dignity of every human life by working to end abortion — uniting, educating, and mobilizing pro-life people in the public square. It hosts the world’s largest annual human rights demonstration in Washington, D.C. every January,” the organization said in a mission statement for the event.

“This year’s speakers will address the 2024 theme — Pro-life: With Every Woman, For Every Child, which is at the heart of the pro-life movement, in their remarks. We will also celebrate the heroic work of Pregnancy Care Centers and Maternity Homes, while offering a roadmap to how we will truly achieve a life-affirming culture that respects the inherent dignity of all human life,” said Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life Education and Defense Fund, in a written statement.

Find the details at MarchforLife.org.  

FOXIFIED

It’s been a busy week in politics, and for the news organizations that cover it. Consider that Fox News’ prime-time coverage of the Iowa caucuses on Monday drew 2.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. CNN had an audience of 707,000 while MSNBC attracted 1.2 million viewers. Politics never sleeps, however — and the show must go on.

Fox News’ coverage of the 2024 New Hampshire primary begins Saturday with Neil Cavuto from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern time.

More coverage follows on Sunday at 5 p.m. Eastern. featuring “America Reports” co-hosts Sandra Smith and John Roberts. On Monday, “pre-primary” coverage begins at 6 a.m.

And on the big day? “Special Report” host and chief political anchor Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, anchor and executive editor of “The Story,” step up at 10 p.m. Tuesday for two hours of incoming election results. The show goes on, though: The network will cover election results into the wee hours beginning at midnight with Trace Gallagher, followed by chief Washington correspondent Mike Emanuel and Gillian Turner, anchor and foreign policy correspondent.

WEEKEND REAL ESTATE

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POLL DU JOUR

• 33% of U.S. adults say Donald Trump’s age will have little effect on his ability to fulfill his duties as U.S. president if he were elected in 2024; 33% of Republicans, 30% of independents and 37% of Democrats agree.

• 29% of women and 38% of men also agree.

• 30% overall say Mr. Trump’s age will have “no effect at all” on his ability to fulfill duties; 56% of Republicans, 27% of independents and 9% of Democrats agree.

• 31% of women and 28% of men also agree.

• 23% overall say his age will “severely limit his ability to do the job”;  5% of Republicans, 24% of independents and 37% of Democrats agree.

• 24% of women and 21% of men also agree.

• 14% overall are not sure about the issue; 5% of Republicans, 19% of independents and 17% of Democrats agree.

• 15% of women and 13% of men also agree.

Source: An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,660 U.S. adults conducted Jan. 14-16.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin, on Facebook @HarperUniverse.