Ron DeSantis appeared on CNN on Tuesday to take on Jake Tapper, signaling a new phase of his campaign.

The 2024 presidential nominee faced the questions you’d expect to come from someone like Tapper, and he acquitted himself very well, answering each inquiry forcefully. He also did so without equivocation, which is easy to fall into in an adversarial setting.

(Also see: Sunday Showdown: Trump Implies He Won’t Debate, DeSantis Hits Him on the Issues)

Expectedly (this is CNN we are talking about), the news of yet more legal troubles for Donald Trump led the broadcast. DeSantis pointedly said he does not think Trump should be charged by the DOJ while also laying out a forward-looking vision in the face of the left’s January 6th obsession.

.@RonDeSantis: We must "have a debate about the country's future…I'll…articulate a positive vision…I don't think it serves us good to have a presidential election focused on what happened [on January 6]…I want to focus on looking forward. I don't want to look back" pic.twitter.com/5vI6vUfXB1

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 18, 2023

Next, the topic of wokeness in the military was broached. DeSantis is a former member of the U.S. Navy and seemed to be especially comfortable discussing the issue.

.@JakeTapper argues the biggest issues for recruitment (aside from death or time away) is gender, ethnic, and racial discrimination@RonDeSantis: "Not everyone really knows what wokeness is. I mean, I’ve defined it, but a lotta people who rail against [it] can’t even define it." pic.twitter.com/40dNZfEFXw

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 18, 2023

You have to love that Tapper is arguing the military, which has become a left-wing cesspool at the leadership levels, is actually suffering because of too much racial and gender discrimination. Talk about making no sense at all. Is Tapper actually arguing there was less discrimination in the years prior when recruiting wasn’t suffering? That would seem to be a ridiculous assertion.

Historically, the most reliable source of recruits for the military has been poor and middle-class white males, including many from military families. The alienation of that demographic with insane DEI initiatives is why recruiting is suffering, not nebulous “discrimination.”

But I digress, Ukraine came up next, and DeSantis was ready to challenge Tapper’s premises, including the idea that the war there is a “vital national interest.”

.@RonDeSantis: "Instead of Europe being the focus since World War II and it was understandable…but now the Asia-Pacific really needs to be to your generation what Europe was…[Y]ou got to care at least as much about your own border as do you about foreign borders." pic.twitter.com/p5ESxtFEmz

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 18, 2023

The topic of abortion wasn’t avoided. DeSantis did not waiver, stating that he would be a pro-life president even as Tapper tried to proclaim he was going to alienate suburban moms.

.@JakeTapper claims GOP pollster believes @RonDeSantis has gone too far right for suburban moms.

DeSantis: "I took a state that had been a one-point state & we won it by 20% pts…Our bread & butter were people like suburb moms. We're leading a big movement for parents rights" pic.twitter.com/W1wGbNInOT

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 18, 2023

As DeSantis notes, the proof is in the pudding. Anyone can speculate, but in a major election in a previously purple state, the Florida governor won suburban moms by an overwhelming margin. Tapper’s assumption that he has his finger on the pulse of the demographic is unfounded. With that said, even if DeSantis’ position wasn’t popular with suburban moms, it’s the right position, and that should matter more than trying to pander.

Moving on, DeSantis was asked about the state of his campaign.

.@RonDeSantis: "There is a narrative…I've been doing poorly…my whole time….'Oh, he has state open. He's going to lose. Then, 'he fought Disney, he's going to lose'…It never works out…I get a kick…when they say he didn't fundraise…when I did more than Biden & Trump" pic.twitter.com/MiSF4uSMhg

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 18, 2023

DeSantis’ strategy is obviously to take things state by state, building an operation that can mobilize voters in the process. Presidential primaries are not national elections, and until we see how the first few states vote, we truly won’t have a gauge of where the race is headed. There’s a reason I haven’t been writing a lot on the primary. So much of what is happening now is mid-summer noise, and to be frank, it’s boring. It’s just too early to make any solid predictions or to suggest that the process is over when the first votes aren’t cast for another six months.

I’ll end with a clip on DeSantis dealing with transgenderism and climate change, both issues that have been contentious within the nation’s culture wars.

.@RonDeSantis on whether climate change should be a focus in the military: "How are you going to equip your fighting force to win? Are you going to put those considerations in?…China is not going to use their considerations. If they need to burn more coal…they are" pic.twitter.com/jvQnp2xqDU

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 18, 2023

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by DeSantis’ performance. Some have speculated he doesn’t do well in oppositional settings, but I think he’s shown in press conferences over the years that he can throw a punch.

In this case, though, he also showed he can defend his positions in a thoughtful way without being overly combative. I love fireworks as much as the next guy, but a candidate needs to be able to get serious when the situation calls for it. He didn’t let Tapper off the hook at any point, and he stuck to his guns on every issue. That’s what DeSantis needed to do, and he did it.