top rank Donald Trump’s campaign and political campaign fervor erupted Tuesday, mocking Ron DeSantis’ staff as a bunch of “amateurs” and along with several officials. What a belly-laughing Trump had – in his verbiage – “cuck[ed]On securing support from the state’s congressional delegation, Florida’s governor, according to three sources familiar with the internal talks.
Sources say Team Trump’s rollout of Florida endorsements on Tuesday was part of a plan to remove DeSantis in his own state, which the former president’s staff has been working on for more than a month. Trump’s aggressive, weeks-long outreach to secure Florida Republican endorsers early in the game (when DeSantis hasn’t even officially announced a 2024 presidential run) has been spearheaded by top aides like Brian Jack and Susie Wills. done with the President. Sources say that many times people are also getting involved personally.
By this past weekend, Trump’s inner circle was convinced that he had several fresh Florida lawmakers ready to declare their endorsements. Previously, there was an idea to release ads in one go, on a possible Thursday or Friday of this week. However, by the weekend, plans had changed: It was decided that the Trump campaign would drip them at different points in the coming days — including Tuesday, when DeSantis would be on the ground in Washington, calling off his own endorsement. Will be trying to do. Florida Delegation. The move was part of a deliberate effort, in the words of one of the sources familiar with the matter, to “embarrass and brainwash DeSantis” as much as possible via a steady drip.
At least for this week, it seems to have worked.
Several lawmakers in the governor’s home state of Florida threw their weight behind Trump on Tuesday, including Reps. Greg Stubbe, John Rutherford and Brian Mast. The former president now has the endorsement of seven members of Florida’s congressional delegation in Washington – with more endorsements rolling out in the coming days, according to knowledge of the plan.
nbc news informed of After Florida Representative and DeSantis ally Byron Donalds endorsed Trump earlier this month, DeSantis adviser Ryan Tyson began trying to persuade Florida lawmakers to stop declaring their endorsement. Steube was one such legislator Tyson who did not benefit. “For the first time, I hear from DeSantis’ political figure,” Steube Said political man Due to the call, DeSantis had turned him down in the past, noting on several occasions.
DeSantis’ humiliation was not limited to Florida. The governor met with Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas), only to see Gooden support trump shortly thereafter. “Today, after careful consideration and a positive meeting with Governor Ron DeSantis, Congressman Lance Gooden announced his endorsement of President Donald J. Trump,” the announcement read.
DeSantis on Tuesday closed an endorsement from Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.), who was formerly his secretary of state in Florida. This is only his third congressional endorsement — the other two are Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Thomas Massey (R-Q.) — meaning Trump has garnered more than twice as much support from DeSantis’ own backyard as DeSantis has achieved … period.
The endorsement debacle isn’t the first sign that DeSantis’ 2024 campaign could be in trouble. Trump, who is leading by a wide margin in most polls, has been attacking the governor mercilessly for weeks. The former president has gone after his main rival, particularly on statements he made years ago expressing support for the privatization of Medicare and Social Security. It also focused on statements from a Trump-aligned super PAC released earlier this week that attacked the governor over Social Security — and were themed around a report that DeSantis once bit his fingers. Had eaten pudding from
DeSantis has largely avoided hitting back at Trump, and appeared visibly uncomfortable when reporters asked him to respond to news stories related to the former president. Instead, he turned his attention to Disney, which opposed an anti-LGBTQ bill signed into law last year. DeSantis has since been trying to exact revenge on Disney World, one of his state’s biggest economic drivers. He threatened to build a jail next to it earlier this week.
Trump delights in controversy. “DeSanctus is being completely destroyed by Disney,” he wrote on Tuesday. “His original PR plan failed, so now he’s going back with a new one to save face. Disney’s next move will be an announcement that no more money will be invested in Florida because of the governor — really , they might even announce a slow withdrawal or sale of some assets, or the whole thing. Watch! That would be killer. Meanwhile, it’s all so unnecessary, a political stunt! Ron should be working at the squatter’s mess!”
The situation has gotten so dire that DeSantis’ big-money donors are starting to break a sweat, as messages in the group chat show. Rolling stone, “What’s wrong with RD?” A wealthy donor wrote that DeSantis was on a promotional tour in Ohio when Fort Lauderdale experienced record flooding. Some donors were also put off by DeSantis’ description of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “territorial dispute,” a euphemism that might be expected of Trump or his Putin-friendly allies, but not a traditional conservative. “My understanding is that the message was: ‘If we wanted a fucking MAGA candidate, we would donate to Donald Trump,’” a source familiar with a donor who called DeSantis urged him to step back from the characterization. Go Rolling stone, DeSantis really went back to it.
DeSantis is expected to formally announce his candidacy sometime after the end of Florida’s legislative session next month. He will play from the back whenever he can.
