DeSantis adviser continues campaign's sharp attack on Haley

A top adviser to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday accused Nikki Haley of “greed” as a candidate and said she is trying to harm him by helping former President Donald J. Trump in the Iowa caucuses.

The comments from David Polyansky, Mr. DeSantis' deputy campaign manager, came Friday at an event hosted by Bloomberg News in downtown Des Moines, as the snowstorm that ravaged the city forced the campaign to cancel some events later in the day — although Mr. Polyansky said Mr. DeSantis' ground game was best equipped for the brutal weather conditions.

He was accompanied by campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo and pollster Ryan Tyson, but he did most of the talking. He said Ms. Haley is running for Iowa to lure votes to Mr. Trump and siphon them away from Mr. DeSantis.

Mr. Polyansky also echoed Mr. DeSantis' claim that Ms. Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, is running to be Mr. Trump's vice-presidential pick, and criticized her for not ruling out joining a Trump ticket.

Her donors' dollars “are essentially in-kind contributions to Donald Trump,” he said. “The competition is trying to win. Competition is not trying to help one of your opponents,” he said.

Later that day, the DeSantis campaign announced that Mr. DeSantis planned to fly directly from Iowa to South Carolina, Ms. Haley's home state, after the caucuses and hold a surprise event there on Jan. 16, his campaign said. He then heads to New Hampshire, where voting takes place that evening on January 23 for a town hall on CNN. The news was first reported by The Associated Press.

Although he is trailing in the polls, Mr. DeSantis' decision appears to be a shot in the arm for Ms. Haley, as well as a signal to Mr. Trump that he intends to stay in the race. “We hope Donald Trump is ready for a long, messy campaign,” Andrew Romeo, communications director for the DeSantis campaign, said in a statement.

Olivia Perez-Cubas, a spokeswoman for Ms. Haley, said Mr. DeSantis “would say anything to distract from his flailing campaign” after “burning through $150 million in Iowa and losing half his support at the polls.” ” She added: “Nikki is the only alternative Trump candidate with the resources and momentum to go the distance.”

Mr. DeSantis has been beaten down by ads from both Mr. Trump's and Ms. Haley's worlds. But Mr. Trump's team has also aired attack ads against Ms. Haley.

Mr. DeSantis has been fighting to hold on to second place in a state on which he once based his candidacy and in which aides privately predicted last fall that he would win easily. Mr. Polyansky described the campaign as “joyful” and said the candidate and team are “having fun.”

He declined to answer when the campaign last polled. Mr. Tyson, who was sitting two seats away from him, also answered few questions.

Mr. Polyansky emphasized that the volunteer operation and the work of the DeSantis team — whose field operation has been largely run by a super PAC, Never Back Down — would be critical if temperatures dip below zero on Monday, as expected. But he also said he couldn't predict turnout.

“I don't know how to measure it anymore, I really don't,” he said. The Trump team, he added, claims that “they have a great organization, and maybe that's true.”

He added: “We will find out on Monday evening.”

Mr. Polyansky claimed that Mr. DeSantis planned to remain in the race until the South Carolina primary on February 24.

He also said that Mr. DeSantis, who has been criticized even among conservatives for not taking on Mr. Trump more directly, has been heading straight for the frontrunner for months. Yet Mr.'s most serious attacks were. Polyansky targeted Ms. Haley during the Bloomberg meeting.

Mr. Tyson, a longtime adviser to Mr. DeSantis, was asked Friday what happened to his camp after the Florida governor's re-election victory last year, when he appeared on the verge of overtaking Mr. Trump.

“I don't really have an answer to that,” Mr. Tyson said. When asked if he wished Mr. DeSantis had waited until 2028 to run for president, he said he supported Mr. DeSantis.

“I have no doubts about that,” Mr. Tyson said.

He added, “I don't think it's appropriate to question this kind of thing,” in what he described as an “unprecedented atmosphere.” And he said, “I don't think that will help.”

Nicholas Nehamas contributed reporting from Des Moines.