MSNBC’s Joy Reid dedicated two minutes to thrashing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after the Republican presidential hopeful eked out a distant second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses on Monday.
“I think we must remark upon the absolute tragedy of Ron DeSantis, as a human being and as a politician,” Reid said during MSNBC’s analysis of the first nominating contest of the 2024 race.
Reid said the state of Florida was paying the price for DeSantis betting big ― and losing ― in Iowa.
She pointed to controversial policies DeSantis implemented over the past year, including a six-week abortion ban, new school standards on how to teach about slavery, and a “draconian” immigration bill he signed into law, as well as his vendetta against Disney.
“He put it all on Iowa,” Reid said. “His whole ground game is Iowa. His whole strategy is Iowa, and he destroyed his political career in his home state, neglected his home state during two hurricanes, wore weird high boots, and humiliated himself.”
“And he’s going to finish maybe in the 15s, maybe in the 20s in Iowa, and he’s finished as a politician in Florida as a result,” she added.
DeSantis invested significant campaign time and resources into Iowa. He visited every county in the state, but didn’t win a single one.
Early last year, many saw DeSantis as the biggest threat to former President Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination. But his campaign hasn’t lived up to the hype.
He finished with just over 21% of the vote in Iowa on Monday. Trump received 51%, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley came in a close third with 19.1%.
Watch Reid’s commentary below, from the 2:15 mark.