Presidential candidate Ron DeSantis lashes out at reporter and asks ‘are you blind?’

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (middle) snapped at Associated Press reporter Steve Peoples (bottom left) at a campaign event in Laconia, New Hampshire (Picture: Twitter/@jonallendc)

Recently announced presidential candidate Ron DeSantis lost his cool at a reporter while campaigning and lashed out by asking twice, ‘Are you blind?’

The hot-tempered moment captured on video happened at Florida Governor DeSantis’ first campaign stop in New Hampshire, on Thursday.

DeSantis, who stands as the strongest challenger to ex-President Donald Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination, is seen smiling while posing for a photo with a supporter at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Laconia. Meanwhile, a reporter standing by DeSantis asks why he declined to take audience queries.

‘Why not take any questions from voters, governor?’ asks Associated Press journalist Steve Peoples. ‘Governor, how come you’re not taking any questions from voters?’

After declining to take audience questions after his first New Hampshire campaign event today, Ron DeSantis lashed out at a reporter for asking him about it while he was chatting with members of the crowd individually.

Here’s the video, via @NBCNews —> pic.twitter.com/Z2WtLy0JNj

— Jonathan Allen (@jonallendc) June 1, 2023

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was taking a photo with a supporter when a reporter fired questions at him (Picture: Twitter/@jonallendc)

DeSantis then turns to Peoples and snaps at him: ‘People are coming up to me, talking to me. What are you talking about? Are you blind? Are you blind?’

‘I’m not blind,’ replies Peoples.

‘OK so people are coming up to me, talking to me whatever they want to talk to me about,’ says DeSantis, and walks away.

While Trump’s fiery personality is well known, DeSantis’ character is just coming to light on the national stage.

Presidential candidate Ron DeSantis told the reporter that he was speaking to people coming up to him (Picture: Twitter/@jonallendc)

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (right) is the strongest challenger to date to ex-President Donald Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination (Pictures: AP)

DeSantis launched his 2024 bid last week in an initially glitchy Twitter Spaces live audio conversation. Despite the near failure to launch on the unconventional platform for presidential candidates, DeSantis remained calm an collected in pitching his agenda and himself as a more electable alternative to Trump.

DeSantis teased his entry into the growing field for the GOP nomination for months.

In March, a report emerged of him as socially awkward and having a tendency to avoid small talk obligations that politicians routinely engage in to connect with voters. It also shared a strange anecdote of DeSantis devouring a chocolate pudding with three fingers during a 2019 flight.

Vikram Mansharamani, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican Senate nomination in New Hampshire in 2022, praised DeSantis for addressing issues that matter to voters. But he told NBC News upon seeing the video of DeSantis blasting the reporter: ‘I find that very disappointing.

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