Ron DeSantis heads into the Iowa caucuses displaying public confidence and a sense of humor

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — Laughter rolled through a suburban Des Moines sports bar after someone told Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that he and his family had just returned from Orlando, having watched the Iowa Hawkeyes get routed 35-0 in the Citrus Bowl.

“Oh, sorry about that,” DeSantis said dryly in response Sunday. He let the crowd roar before adding, “My powers of governor are limited. I have a non-interference clause in bowl games.”

Ribbing sports fans about a tough loss is standard political banter. But having long been seen as a strident and sometimes dour presence, DeSantis in recent weeks is coming off to many would-be supporters in Iowa as looser and more personable.

He’s showing more confidence even in the face of doubts that he’ll be able to beat former President Donald Trump in Monday’s caucuses as he previously vowed — and as his Republican presidential campaign tears into former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who has picked off some of his donors and support in recent months and against whom he was set to debate at Drake University in Des Moines on Wednesday.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«Other news» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Other news </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Florida welcomes students fleeing campus antisemitism, with little evidence that there’s demand </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Court sends case of prosecutor suspended by DeSantis back to trial judge over First Amendment issues </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> As DeSantis and Haley face off in Iowa GOP