Casey DeSantis hits back at far-left media's criticism: 'We will not back down'
Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., and his wife Casey spoke with 'Fox & Friends' co-host Ainsley Earhardt for an exclusive sit-down interview.
Florida first lady Casey DeSantis called out the mainstream media for targeted low-blow attacks against her, warning the DeSantis family will "not back down" against the partisan scrutiny.
She sat down for an exclusive "Fox & Friends" interview with her husband, presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, R., to discuss a wide array of topics including the media's mockery, her devastating cancer diagnosis and family life on the 2024 campaign trail.
"One thing that the corporate media did get right about me, I do shop at Walmart," Casey told Ainsley Earhardt. "I think it's interesting, and you probably can sympathize with this, when they come after you and they're just calling you names. That means they don't want to litigate the merits of their case. They don't want to have that conversation. They want to call you names."
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida first lady Casey DeSantis and their three children. (Team DeSantis)
Casey has been scrutinized by the far-left press since her husband threw his hat in the ring for the upcoming presidential election.
She has been called "America's Karen" and "Walmart Melania" and even compared to Lady MacBeth and a wannabe Jackie Kennedy amid a series of politically motivated jabs.
However, the attacks have not stopped Florida's first family from fighting back against the criticism.
"They want to try to get you to back down, but I can tell you the number one thing, we will not back down when it comes to our family," she said.
Florida Governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis walks alongside his wife, Casey DeSantis, and son, Mason, while marching in the Wolfeboro Independence Day Parade in New Hampshire on Tuesday, July 4, 2023. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News Digital)
Casey also reflected on her heartbreaking cancer diagnosis in 2021, recounting the emotional moment she found out she had breast cancer with three young children at home.
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"Anybody will say with a cancer diagnosis, when you start hearing those words, it's not definitive right out of the gate. It is, ‘We see something that is problematic.’ And a really hard part for me was that I had a 4, 3-year-old and a 1-year-old in the house. And it's like very, very difficult when you look at your children, and they don't know," she said while fighting back tears.
"To this day, they still don't know," she continued. "They have no idea what mama went through. As a matter of fact, when I was going through six rounds of chemotherapy, six weeks of radiation and three surgeries, couldn't really use my left arm a lot of times. So I told them… I hurt my arm. I didn't want to tell them, but through God's grace I am here."
Casey credited Ron with carrying the family through a difficult time, citing his tenacity as cause for frustration surrounding the media's targeted attacks against him as well.
"He was the dad who took care of my children when I couldn't. He was there to fight for me when I didn't have the strength to fight for myself," Casey said. "You just want to tell it from the heart. And I felt the need to do that because I was so tired of all of the hits he was taking, all of these false accusations about his character."
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DeSantis is largely seen as Trump's main challenger to secure the GOP nomination, although many polls still indicate he trails the former president by double digits.
A University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll that was released earlier this week indicated Trump's support stood at 37% in the state while DeSantis sat at 23%.
"We feel that if we can do something to be able to change the trajectory and indeed preserve our American republic, and we can take one for the team by getting hit on behalf of the people of this country, we're going to do it," Casey said.
"We're going to fight for your family. We're going to fight for our family, and we're going to fight for America going forward," she continued.