Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), now a CNN contributor, said Tuesday on “Anderson Cooper 360” that his former U.S. House colleague Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) was “awkward in person.”
Cooper said, “It’s been interesting to watch DeSantis’ rise and fall all before he has announced his candidacy.”
Kinzinger said, “He is not necessarily the best campaigner. I think that is starting to be obvious. That’s something I said early on. If you look back at the history of the primaries, at least on the Republican side, whoever is the frontrunner right now never ends up being the nominee. ”
Cooper asked, “Congressman, you served with him. What was he like?”
Kinzinger said, “Look, he is hard to get along with one on one. He is awkward in person.”
Cooper asked, “You are saying he is hard to get on one on one and he is not a great campaigner in groups? What does that leave?”
Kinzinger said, “When he goes in front of the press and he owns the press and tries to push back, that’s very beneficial in a Republican primary. I’m just saying my experience with him. I got along with him. But I was surprised when he won governor of Florida. He doesn’t strike me as somebody that’s going to go out and work the rope line. Donald Trump wasn’t either but he was able to bring a different energy that Ron DeSantis can’t.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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