DeSantis Repeats Super PAC’s Leaked Talking Point About Chris Christie: ‘I’m Not Running To Be a Contributor on Cable News’

Republican presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appeared to recycle a leaked talking point by a pro-DeSantis super PAC during an appearance on Fox News.

Last week, the New York Times noted that Never Back Down, which supports the governor’s presidential bid, posted materials online outlining a potential debate strategy for DeSantis to deploy. One portion contains advice on how to handle former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who has been unrelenting in his attacks on former President Donald Trump.

“Trump isn’t here, so let’s just leave him alone,” one memo suggests as a possible line of attack. “He’s too weak to defend himself here. We’re all running against him. I don’t think we want to join forces with someone on this stage who’s auditioning for a show on MSNBC.”

Appearing on Monday’s edition of The Story on Fox News, DeSantis used a line strikingly similar to the one in the memo when asked about Christie.

“What about Chris Christie?” Martha MacCallum asked during a conversation about the Republican primary. “He’s also come at you pretty hard. Do you expect that there’s gonna be some moments where you’re going to want to put him in his place? He’s doing very well in New Hampshire. I think he surpassed you in some of the polls in New Hampshire. He is not engaging at all in Iowa.”

“Well, look, bring it on,” the governor replied. “People can do what they want. I can tell you this, though, Martha, of anyone on the stage, I’m the only one whose sole purpose is running to be the 47th president of the United States and to reverse this country’s decline. I’m not running to be vice president. I’m not running to be in the cabinet. And I’m not running to be a contributor on cable news. We’re running to win, and we’re gonna show people that we’ll get the job done.”

Earlier in the interview, MacCallum asked DeSantis about the super PAC memo. The governor noted the PAC is separate from his campaign and claimed, “It’s not something that I’ve read and it’s not reflective of my strategy.”

Despite the efforts of challengers, Trump leads the Republican field by a light-year.  He has said he will skip the first debate on Wednesday on Fox, and possibly all of them.

Watch above via Fox News.