DALLAS — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “fireside chat” at Saturday’s Dallas County Republican Party’s Reagan Day Dinner will occur behind closed doors.
“We are not able to invite the media,” said Dallas County Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Stoddard-Hajdu. “That was the decision of Governor DeSantis’ team.”
Stoddard-Hajdu directed questions to a DeSantis press aide, who did not return a text message, email or telephone call.
On Friday, DeSantis will speak at the Harris County Republican Party’s Lincoln Reagan Dinner, which is also closed to the media.
Rice University political scientist Mark Jones said that DeSantis has an uneasy relationship with the media and doesn’t want to risk making a mistake before his expected entry into the Republican presidential sweepstakes.
“DeSantis has a frayed relationship with the media and a desire to effectively keep himself walled off from the media,” Jones said. “There also a belief among many Republicans, especially for the primary, that traditional media simply isn’t much use to them and that they have little to gain and too much to lose by being exposed to the media.”
The Florida governor is afraid of the press, said Kristy Noble, Dallas County Democratic Party chair.
“We know fascist Republican Ron DeSantis is afraid of history books, free market capitalism, and kids playing sports, but we didn’t know he was afraid of Dallas County’s local reporters,” she said in a statement. “We’re proud to open all our Democratic events to the media because we’re proud of our values. Maybe Republicans know he’s no match for their party leader — election loser after election loser Donald Trump.”
The Reagan Day Dinner is the annual fundraiser for the local GOP. The event was open to the media in the past, particularly since it’s a showcase for Republicans across the region. Over the years, the dinner has attracted many influential Republicans, including former Vice President Mike Pence and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who has announced a GOP campaign for president.
Along with the conversation with DeSantis and his wife, Casey, the dinner features a congressional panel with Republican Reps. Beth Van Duyne of Irving, Chip Roy of Austin and Ronny Jackson of Amarillo. It will be held at the Omni Hotel in downtown Dallas.
Securing DeSantis’ appearance at the fundraiser was a score for the local party. He’s considered a strong contender against former President Donald Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, though he hasn’t announced a campaign.
The Florida governor will be in Texas as the Conservative Political Action Conference convenes near Washington, D.C. Speakers at that conference include Trump.
DeSantis has made national headlines by aggressively pushing culture war issues, including his fight to limit schools from discussing gender and sexual identity to younger children.
“Ron DeSantis is popular across the county, and he’s a great speaker. We’re excited about it,” Stoddard-Hajdu said the day the event was announced.
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