Florida Governor Ron DeSantis responded sharply to a reporter who questioned why he was not engaging with voters while taking photos with supporters during a campaign stop in New Hampshire, asking, “Are you blind?”

“People are coming up to me, talking to me,” the GOP governor said as he was surrounded by members of the crowd in response to a question from Associated Press reporter Steve Peoples.

“What are you talking about? Are you blind? Are you blind? People are coming up to me, talking to me about whatever they want to talk to me about,” he added, per Fox News.

After declining to take audience questions after his first New Hampshire campaign event today, Ron DeSantis lashed out at a reporter for asking him about it while he was chatting with members of the crowd individually.

Here’s the video, via @NBCNews —> pic.twitter.com/Z2WtLy0JNj

— Jonathan Allen (@jonallendc) June 1, 2023

Videos shared on Twitter depict Governor Ron DeSantis engaging with the crowd and taking photos during a campaign event in New Hampshire. The state, known for hosting the first Republican primary, holds significant importance in the upcoming election cycle. It is followed by the Iowa caucuses, which traditionally mark the beginning of the primary season.

NBC News noted that DeSantis “did not answer questions from his lectern so that voters could all hear his answers at once.”

Bryan Griffin, the governor’s campaign press secretary, addressed the exchange on Twitter.

“This @AP reporter asked this question while @RonDeSantis was surrounded by voters in New Hampshire asking him questions and taking pictures. Perfectly illustrative of the modern media shutting their eyes and ears to the truth to push their narrative,” Griffin said.

This @AP reporter asked this question while @RonDeSantis was surrounded by voters in New Hampshire asking him questions and taking pictures.

Perfectly illustrative of the modern media shutting their eyes and ears to the truth to push their narrative. https://t.co/izwzps6Sxo

— Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) June 1, 2023

Earlier, DeSantis got some laughs from a crowd during a campaign event in Iowa on Wednesday when he noted that former President Trump, his chief rival for 2024 GOP nomination, said Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York did a better job than he did when dealing with the COVID pandemic.

“I mean, if you say Cuomo did a better job with COVID than Florida did — first of all, that’s not what he used to say. Six months ago he would have never said that, right?” DeSantis noted.

He also questioned why, if he did such a bad job, Trump and many of his family members moved to Florida instead of remaining in New York City.

Despite Trump’s frontrunner status, many media outlets in recent days have claimed that DeSantis is “far more dangerous.”