WASHINGTON – Don’t claim that former President Donald Trump warned him.
Trump attempted to convince Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has decided not to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
Trump claimed he would attack DeSantis personally. He said that a vicious fight would split the party and make DeSantis “never… be able to run for office again.”
DeSantis sat on the sidelines and took Trump’s attacks, but the former president received endorsements from legislators, including more than half of the House members in their home state, Florida.
Trump emphasized DeSantis’ missteps as well as the flagging poll numbers.
It didn’t work.
DeSantis will make his presidential candidacy official next week when federal campaign finance laws require him to submit paperwork. Trump advisers claim they are not surprised that DeSantis will run a presidential campaign – despite the public attempts by Trump to discourage him.
Though they keep the details of their plans for welcoming DeSantis into the race under wraps, they claim that the overall thrust of their plan won’t be changed much in a period when Trump’s main rival’s support has dropped.
“We won’t telegraph what we’re doing — we don’t do that generally — but suffice it to say, we’ll do more of the same,” Chris LaCivita said, one of Trump’s co-campaign manager. “I’m not aware of any changes in our strategy and the way we will continue to pursue the narrative,” said Chris LaCivita, one of Trump’s co-campaign managers.
DeSantis’ allies claim he is in a good position before he enters the race.
“The Republican Primary is already a two man race and Gov. DeSantis hasn’t been nominated yet, said Erin Perrine of the pro-DeSantis SuperPAC. “As we have seen during his recent trips to Iowa and New Hampshire there is growing support for the governor, because he’s the only Republican that doesn’t simply talk the talk but follows through with the hard battles, like taking on woke companies.”
Real Clear Politics’ average for recent national multicandidate surveys released on Monday showed that Trump was ahead of DeSantis by 56.3% to 19,4%. This is a big change from the early months of the year when Trump was consistently below the 50% threshold, and DeSantis would often be able to reach between a quarter and a third of GOP primary voters. In a CNN poll conducted in early March, DeSantis beat Trump by 39% to 37%.
DeSantis’ shadow campaign did not stop or reverse the slide. It included a book-tour and visits to states with early primaries over the last three months. DeSantis’ allies have tried to frame the race as a contest between two men, but neither his fundraising ability nor his performance in the field has dissuaded other candidates.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) launched his campaign on Monday. Trump praised him, while also taking a jab at DeSantis.
Trump, using the nickname he gave Florida Governor Ron DeSanctimonious to describe him, said that Tim was a huge step up.
Steve Bannon, the host of the “War Room” podcast, and the CEO of Trump’s 2016 campaign said that the polls suggested Trump shouldn’t bother with DeSantis.
“The numbers, simple and brutal are: The more Americans see of Gov. Bannon stated that the more people see DeSantis in public, the less likely they are to think of him as presidential material. “President Trump must focus on Biden, and his inevitable successor.”
External forces were responsible for the biggest shift in polling. Many Republicans rallied in support of Trump when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged him with charges related to the alleged hush-money payments made to pornstar Stormy Daniels.
DeSantis took a long time to respond and ended up taking a shot at Trump, which didn’t go over well with many in the GOP. He has alienated potential supporters by denying U.S. assistance to Ukraine as well as by signing Florida’s new six-week ban on abortion. This could turn swing votes against him during a general elections.
Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the unsuccessful candidate who ran against Trump in 2016 said that DeSantis’ recent struggles are proof of the dynamic nature of the political world.
He said, “What is true today may not be true tomorrow. DeSantis had risen to prominence at one time, but look how things have changed since then.” “You don’t know.”
Perrine, the Never Back Down spokeswoman, stated that Republicans will eventually pick DeSantis.
She said that the choice for primary voters couldn’t have been clearer. While Donald Trump talks a lot, DeSantis fights and wins,” DeSantis is the clear choice for primary voters. While Trump talks a big game, DeSantis fights and wins,” she said.
DeSantis’ advisers claim that despite Trump’s attempts to keep him out of the race they were aware this day would arrive and had long laid the foundations for it.
LaCivita stated, “We have always treated him like a candidate.”
