Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) on Thursday downplayed his move to distance himself from President Donald Trump during his gubernatorial campaign in Florida, arguing the press tried to push a “hot take” on his relationship with the White House.

Last month, Donalds, who is running in what could be an unexpectedly tight race against Democrat David Jolly, stripped eight mentions of Trump from his campaign website’s homepage. The Republican candidate also removed a “Enact the Trump Agenda” priority and transferred his photo with Trump to a less conspicuous corner of his website, according to an analysis by the Miami Herald. The move that swiftly attracted attention due to the dynamics of the close race, in which both candidates will need to pull more centrist voters to win the November election.