As the GOP presidential hopefuls gear up for their big showdown in Iowa on Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis hit the Sunday morning shows to offer his closing argument. DeSantis joined Jonathan Karl on ABC News' "This Week" to lay out the case for himself over former President Donald Trump, who maintains a significant lead in the polls. 

The full transcript can be found here, but below are some highlights from that exchange. 

Ron DeSantis tells @JonKarl that GOP front-runner Donald Trump is “focused a lot of things that concern him,” like his legal battles and Jan. 6.

“If I’m the nominee, we’ll be solely focused on the issues that matter to the American people.” https://t.co/vNy13CH9Uu pic.twitter.com/lysX0uortY

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 14, 2024

KARL: So, let me ask you, your closing argument now to those voters who -- those Republicans who plan to go tomorrow night and to caucus for Donald Trump, what is your closing argument to them to say, come vote for me instead?  

DESANTIS: Well, Donald Trump's running for his issues. I'm running for your issues and your family's issues and solely to turn this country around. I've delivered on 100 percent of my promises. Donald Trump, obviously, didn't build the wall, didn't drain the swamp, and didn't reduce the debt. I've also taken on and beaten the Democrats and the left. And in reality, Donald Trump, as president, oftentimes got beat by the Democrats at the border. He got beat on debt. And so we have an opportunity to have a two-term president, someone that's going to be able to win decisively, and then actually bring all this stuff into fruition. And I'm the guy to do it.  

KARL: You say Donald Trump is running for his issues. What do you mean by that? What are Donald Trump's issues?  

DESANTIS: Well, he's focused a lot on things that concern him. Obviously, the distractions of everything that's going along with all these legal issues has been a huge thing for him. You're going to have criminal trials. You're going to have a lot of focus on things like January 6th by the media. And I think that ends up focusing the election on things that are going to be advantageous for Democrats because you're not going to be talking about the border, you're not going to be talking about the economy. You're going to be talking about all these things to make the election a referendum on Donald Trump.  

And I think when Republicans have had those elections, whether it's 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, the Democrats have -- have benefitted for that, whereas if I'm the nominee, we'll be solely focused on the issues that matter to the American people. I'll be able to hold Biden or whoever their nominee is accountable. And I think it will be a crisp opportunity for a crisp victory for Republicans. And so we have an opportunity to make that choice starting in Iowa, and then through this process, but the notion that somehow all this stuff that's swirling around him is going to be a positive in a general election, that's just not true.  

DeSantis didn't stop there. He argues that he's in a better position to energize the Republican base than either Trump or former South Carolina Governor/UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. 

"You've got to have somebody that can energize the base. I think that Trump obviously has done that in the past. I’ve done that in Florida. I can do it nationally," GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis tells @JonKarl.

"Haley cannot do that." https://t.co/VDuv3D4vpY pic.twitter.com/kn0rQtEHwR

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 14, 2024

KARL: So, you think Trump is likely to lose to Biden in a head to head matchup?

DESANTIS: Well, look -- one of the reasons I’m running, Jon, is because after the midterms of 2022, we saw very clearly the pathway forward for the party was like what we did in Florida, what Governor Reynolds who's endorsed me here in Iowa, what she did winning big. Governors and Republicans that had their own brand and focused on results performed extraordinarily well. The other Republicans who were more aligned with Trump and his issues, they underperformed. That's just the reality.

So my fear is, is doing 2024 with a rematch would have a lot of the same dynamics that we had in 2020, only Donald Trump won't be an incumbent. I mean, the advantages of incumbency are incredible, and yet we are where we are.

So I think we -- I have the best path forward for the party, to both unite the party because you've got to have somebody that can -- that can energize the base, and I think that Trump obviously has done that in the past. I’ve done that in Florida. I can do it nationally.

Haley cannot do that. I mean, she is not getting support from conservatives. She's relying on Democrat-leaning independents for her support in the primary, and that's just not the way you can win and galvanize support from the party faithful.

Asked about his repeated predictions over the past few months that he would win Iowa in light of recent polling showing him trailing the former president by a considerable margin — and Haley gaining ground — DeSantis noted the upside to being the "underdog." 

SEE: IOWA POLL: Trump Falls Below 50 Percent, Haley Moves to Second Place

One day before the Iowa caucuses, GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis tells @JonKarl that it’s “good to be an underdog.”

“I’d rather have people count us out. I'd rather have people lower expectations for us. I tend to perform better like that.” https://t.co/kv9BRBrg9R pic.twitter.com/xE40uCzcxt

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 14, 2024

KARL: So simple question, are you going to win Iowa?

DESANTIS: But you know what? Since then, I’ve learned that it's good to be an underdog. When folks want to count you out, when they want to say, oh, you know, this, when they want to cite these polls -- I mean, the -- our supporters here, and I think Iowans generally, I think they roll their eyes at some of these polls because how you can poll a caucus, much less one in negative 22?

So our voters are ready. They're going to turn out. We've built this great organization. We've got great enthusiasm on the ground. Yes, I visited all 99 counties. So, that's the -- that’s what you need to be able to do well.

So, we're going to do well, but I’d rather have people count us out. I'd rather have people lower expectations for us. I tend to perform better like that.

I think our vo -- our voters that we’ve lined up and we have tens of thousands that have committed to caucus for us. I’ve got thousands of people that have come in just to volunteer in Iowa. People that are just paying their own plane ticket from Washington state and Texas so they can trudge through snow in the middle of a blizzard and knock on doors and ask Iowans to support me in the caucus.

So, we’re really excited about what we put together here. Our voters have an opportunity to have their vote count in a really meaningful way because there was 186,000 people that came last time 2016 to participate. A lot of people thought it was going to be less anyways. But now with this weather, it could be significantly less.

So, any one of our voters who are out there bringing friends and family -- man, that's going to pack a punch. So we're going to do well, but I would -- I like the fact that they’re -- that they're viewing me as an underdog. I think that's better.

DeSantis has a point — given the current polling, when the smoke (or snow) clears in Iowa, we could see a situation where Trump underperforms and DeSantis overperforms. Overly optimistic? Or realistic assessment of the dynamics on the ground? We'll know soon enough.