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Bill Stepien, who ran then-President Donald Trump’s general election campaign in 2020, said Monday in a new podcast that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ struggle in the 2024 GOP presidential primary can’t be laid at the feet of his staff.
“I know campaigns take a lot of blame during times like this,” Stepien said on the inaugural “Yes Labels” podcast, which he is co-hosting with fellow Trump campaign veteran Justin Clark. “I think there’s a candidate problem for Ron DeSantis.”
The two former Trump aides, who say they are not aligned with a campaign this time around, argue that there is time for DeSantis to turn things around despite stalled poll numbers, a cash crunch and the recent dismissal of roughly a dozen members of his team.
“He can fix this,” Clark said. “But it’s got to be him that fixes it, and it’s got to be with long-ball policy proposals.”
They agreed that it is a no-brainer for DeSantis to participate in the first Republican debate in August, saying that is one of the most promising opportunities for him to hit reset with GOP primary voters.
Along with another former Trump adviser, Stepien and Clark re-launched their firm National Public Affairs shortly after the 2020 election. In hearings before the House Jan. 6 committee last year, Stepien described the campaign operatives in Trump’s orbit — a group that included himself and Clark — as “team normal” during the effort to overturn the 2020 election.
Clark testified that he had been uncomfortable with the push to tap fake electors.
The two said that the podcast will likely air new episodes on a near-weekly basis and dive into a wider spectrum of Republican presidential campaigns.
