Florida GOP nominee suddenly cancels interviews after debate disaster

Florida Republican nominee for governor Ron DeSantis will no longer sit down with the six newspapers that make up the USA Today network in Florida, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

The abrupt cancellation from DeSantis came less than 24 hours after a widely panned debate performance.

The original plan was for DeSantis to sit down with editors from the papers in a discussion that would be live-streamed on Facebook. His Democratic opponent, Andrew Gillum, is still scheduled for his meetings with the papers.

During Sunday night’s debate, DeSantis was caught flat-footed against Gillum, who is the current mayor of Florida’s capital, Tallahassee.

DeSantis has campaigned for months by touting his closeness to Trump, but when asked if Trump was a “good role model” for Florida children, he punted. Instead DeSantis rambled on about the U.S. embassy in Israel.

Gillum, who was tasked with managing Trump during Hurricane Michael, rightfully called out DeSantis for “trying out to be the Trump apprentice” instead of answering basic questions.

Polling has shown Gillum with a consistent lead in the race, as DeSantis’ extremist rhetoric and use of racist language has battered his image.

Now he won’t stand up to questioning by newspaper editors asking questions on the minds of millions of Floridians.

DeSantis now seems to be trying to hide after his national humiliation, merely hoping to let time run out.