Gov. Ron DeSantis has been trying not to alienate former president Donald Trump’s voters since as far back as 2018, ABC News first reported.
The media outlet obtained two and a half hours of video footage from the then-congressman’s debate prep sessions. The footage revealed that DeSantis was eyeing Trump’s base as he tried to carve out space for himself among voters in the state where the former president was and is wildly popular.
“Is there any issue which you disagree with President Trump?” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who’s since endorsed Trump’s reelection campaign, asked in one of the sessions.
“I have to figure out how to do this,” DeSantis replied with a deep sigh.
“Obviously there is because, I mean, I voted contrary to him in the Congress,” he said. “I have to frame it in a way that’s not going to piss off all his voters.”
He then said that he would “do what I think is right” and support the then-president’s agenda. “If I have a disagreement, I talk to him in private,” he said.
The footage offers more insight into the governor’s complicated relationship with Trump, which has grown contentious as DeSantis gears up for an expected presidential run against Trump in 2024.
In recent months, DeSantis has used his current role to usher through headline-grabbing legislation, all in a bid to sway voters away from Trump’s base. He’s even lifted pages from Trump’s campaign handbook, like boosting a media circuit that’s friendly to his administration.
But Trump has fired back in a pretty cutting way: Aside from constantly blasting the governor as “Ron DeSanctimonious” on social media, he convinced most of Florida’s Republican congressional delegation to endorse his campaign—even after the governor specifically asked several of them not to—and then flexed it in a photo op.
This could be part of why DeSantis is reportedly considering skipping an exploratory committee for his campaign altogether. According to ABC News, the governor is “itching to start making his argument to voters by touting his accomplishments and to start pushing back against Trump’s numerous attacks.”
Ooh, someone doesn’t like DeSantis.
I find it exceedingly strange that a man who has trouble interacting with people, as in can’t make friends or allies, decides that public office is his thing.
As we’ve seen that Clarence has his Crow, who is DeSantis’ sugardaddy?
When T rumpp first came on the political scene in 2015, his governing philosophy was largely an unknown. I remember big-time CEOs (Subaru America comes to mind) endorsing him by stating, “How bad could it be?”
Well, fortunately or unfortunately, we don’t have that same scenario with DeSantis. This time T rumpp voters know exactly what they’re getting with Bootsie. Ignorance is no excuse! (Even though ignorance is all they’ve got.)
Big Fascism
Every Republican for at least 40 years has wanted Trump voters. That is has been said many times, Trump’s base created Trump and not the other way around. Trump voters are be definition those who vote on other than economic issues.
To DeSantis specifically, what DeSantis challenge to Trump for Trump’s base reminds me of is a member of a cult challenging the cult leader for control of the cult.
The problem for DeSantis is cults are built to a great extent on personality. Trump had decades to build his personality on TV as a great business leader whereas DeSantis personality is mostly presented in his fight with Mickey Mouse.
But the real concern Republicans have now that Trump has taken such firm control of that base, if Trump is not the nominee, will they still vote for Republicans. I mean while the GOP is the Party of billionaires, Trump’s base mostly has a high school diploma or less.
So in my view trying to defeat Donald Trump by trying to steal Trump voters is a fools errand. What Republicans need to do to defeat Trump is win Republicans who are not Trump’s base, hope that is enough and that in a General Election they will fall in line behind the GOP candidate if for not other reason is their hatred of Democrats/“those people”.
Speaketh DeSatan: Give me your crazies, your poor, your huddled MAGAts yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your Mar A Lago shore.