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As With Leaked Tucker Video, DeSantis 2018 Debate Prep Leak To Disney-Owned ABC News Makes Him Look Good

As With Leaked Tucker Video, DeSantis 2018 Debate Prep Leak To Disney-Owned ABC News Makes Him Look Good

Leak of 2018 debate prep called “Low Class” and “Hackery” by Trump-backers Reps. Donalds and Gaetz, but Pro-DeSantis Tweeter responds: “They were leaked by the Trump team. Excellent choice you made in endorsement”

As we have seen over the last two weeks, there is a leak campaign against Tucker Carlson via Media Matters. The leaks are of off-air banter and joking that is typical on television shows between live segments. None of those Media Matters leaks made Tucker look bad to anyone who wasn’t already a hater or a dishonest mainstream media journalist.

A similar thing just happened to Ron DeSantis via a leaked video of his 2018 gubernatorial debate prep in which, as happens in debate prep, a lot of strategy never intended for airing is exchanged.

The leak was to Disney’s ABC News. Do you think it was a coincidence that the leak was to a Disney entity? I doubt it. Trump has been very critical of DeSantis for taking on Disney’s woke agenda, and has tried to use that fight with Disney against DeSantis. So it’s logical that if the leak was via Team Trump, they would go through a Disney entity.

Who leaked the debate prep video to ABC News? Well, like the leaks of the Tucker tapes to Media Matters, that’s not yet proven from an evidentiary standpoint. But there’s plenty of reason to think it was a Trump-aligned person or entity because the highlighted part of the leak was DeSantis discussing whether his having voted on some ocasions as a congressman contrary to Trump might “piss off his voters.”

That is a theme we’ve heard often – that DeSantis has to challenge Trump but worry about pissing off Trump voters. I think that has it wrong. Winning will not “piss off” Trump voters, except for the dead-ender “OnlyTrump” voters who regularly threaten to make sure that any Republican nominee other than Trump will be sabotaged in the general election by them. There is a segment of OnlyTrumpers who are just as much hostage takers as NeverTrumpers and cannot be reasoned with — either they get their way or they say they will try to undermine the Republican nominee. DeSantis need not worry about pissing off OnlyTrumpers, they already are a lost cause or so they say. DeSantis and any other candidate should not negotiate with hostage takers. But I don’t think most Trump voters fit into that category, so DeSantis should not worry that staking out principled positions and winning will “piss off” Trump voters.

Equally important, if you listen to the actual video, and not the Disney/ABC News hype, DeSantis stakes out a very honest and resonable position: If asked about his votes contrary to Trump, despite worrying about pissing off his voters, he will respond truthfully that while he generally supports Trump’s policies, he doesn’t agree on everything, and will vote the way he sees it:

“So what I do is, I do what I think is right. I support his agenda, in terms of what he’s been able to do, when I have a disagreement, I talk to him in private.”

So substantively, despite the Disney/ABC News spin, there’s no there there in the leak.

That hasn’t stopped pro-Trump accounts from promoting the video:

Nonetheless, it has upset two people who participated in DeSantis’ debate prep and now are backing Trump, Reps. Byron Donalds and Matt Gaetz. That they are trying to pump the brakes on use of the leaked tape is pretty good proof that Trump world recognizes that the leak may backfire just as it backfired against Tucker.

Hey, you bought the ticket, now go for the ride, is a theme pushed by pro-DeSantis people:

No one in DeSantis Twitter world seems worried, nor should they be.

Getting back to who is to blame, this is a sign of weakness, just like the almost daily pronouncements that the primary is over, DeSantis should just drop out, and so on. No one who really thinks that DeSantis has no chance acts with the fear that motivates attacking him two days before the midterms and almost every day since then.

DeSantis reportedly will be skipping the “exploratory committee” phase and moving straight to announcing a run for president. Let the fun begin.

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Comments

henrybowman | May 7, 2023 at 8:44 pm

“DeSantis reportedly will be skipping the “exploratory committee” phase and moving straight to announcing a run for president.”

Really? Because to me, that’s a strike. Guy spent months assuring us he had no intention of running for president in 2024. Now this? I hope the “reportedlys” on this one are talking through their hats.

    Danny in reply to henrybowman. | May 7, 2023 at 8:55 pm

    DeSantis never said he had no intention of running for president.

    Actually the DeSantis camp was literally shouting “2 more years 2 more years” during his re-election.

    William A. Jacobson in reply to henrybowman. | May 7, 2023 at 9:00 pm

    Curious about your cites for DeSantis “assuring us he had no intention of running for president in 2024” – my recollection is that he avoided answering the question while running for reelection, and I don’t recall him ever saying he would not run since then. But maybe I’m wrong, what is your authority?

      henrybowman in reply to William A. Jacobson. | May 7, 2023 at 11:17 pm

      I’m talking about widely reported statements, like the following from Vanity Fair:

      In a profile of DeSantis for Vanity Fair’s November issue, I reported that DeSantis privately told donors that if he did run, he would launch a full-frontal assault on Trump’s record and competence. But according to four prominent Republicans, DeSantis appears to be reconsidering his plans to run. Sources told me DeSantis recently indicated to donors that he would not challenge Trump for the Republican nomination. “He’s led them to believe he will not run if Trump does,” a Republican briefed on the donor conversations told me. Another source told me DeSantis’s calculus is that, at age 44, he can easily wait until the next presidential cycle, so why risk a brutal primary fight against a pugilist like Trump? “He can walk into the presidency in 2028 without pissing off Trump or Florida,” the source said. “What would you rather do? Be the governor of Florida for certain or go run for president?”

      I thought this was still canon. Trump is now actively running. Is this statement “no longer operational?” I hate when that happens. I feel suckered.

    CommoChief in reply to henrybowman. | May 7, 2023 at 9:15 pm

    Henry,

    DeSantis never explicitly stated he would not run in ’24. Not once. He made very anodyne responses to the question the very many times it was asked regardless of how the question was phrased.

    Was that a politician like thing to do? A cleverly phrased response that neither admits nor concedes anything just as an Attorney might make? Yes to both b/c he is both.

      BeAChooser in reply to CommoChief. | May 8, 2023 at 12:46 am

      Here’s DeSantis in an interview by Hannity back in 2021: https://twitter.com/justinbaragona/status/1443391464394969091?s=21 . DeSantis was asked are you considering a run for the Presidency in 2024. He answered “I’m not considering anything beyond doing my job. We’ve got a lot of stuff going on in Florida. I’m going to be running for reelection next year and were also working on a lot of things in the state beyond just the Governor’s race. We also have school board races. I want to make sure people aren’t supporting critical race theory.”

        CommoChief in reply to BeAChooser. | May 8, 2023 at 8:06 am

        Ok and? No where in that ’21 statement does he state ‘I am not running for President’. He worked on a bunch of stuff, was successfully reelected by a 20% margin, helped get some school board candidates across the finish line, got a bunch of anti CRT /DEI initiatives, parents rights, firearms carry, got anti grooming/ anti trans ideology passed. Now it is ’23 and having done those things since ’21 he is looking ahead.

        This isn’t some Jedi mind trick my guy. He didn’t deceive anyone, you received yourself b/c you heard what you wanted to hear but not what the man said. He made an anodyne statement that you chose to misinterpret. Politicians do this all the time. Attorneys do this all the time. DeSantis is both. Use active listening and apply reading comprehension before jumping to conclusions about a statement from a politician.

          BeAChooser in reply to CommoChief. | May 8, 2023 at 1:12 pm

          I didn’t jump to a conclusion. You’re the one doing that. ALL I did was repeat what DeSantis said in 2021 for completeness since that comment hadn’t been mentioned. Everyone can draw their own conclusion regarding DeSantis’ plans at the time.

          CommoChief in reply to CommoChief. | May 8, 2023 at 5:07 pm

          If you were simply adding to the discussion by offering further evidence to Henry of another occasion in which DeSantis very carefully did not say he ruled out a Presidential run then why didn’t you respond to a higher post and not mine?

          You didn’t add in any statement such as ‘Hey CommoChief is absolutely correct, DeSantis didn’t say that and here’s an example’ to demonstrate agreement. I presume any post that in response that can’t be easily classified as agreement in part or in whole is disagreement b/c Occam’s razor.

          BeAChooser in reply to CommoChief. | May 8, 2023 at 9:48 pm

          “If you were simply adding to the discussion by offering further evidence to Henry of another occasion in which DeSantis very carefully did not say he ruled out a Presidential run then why didn’t you respond to a higher post and not mine?”

          You’re upset because I posted something that actually supported your post to Henry, at least depending on how one parses DeSantis’ statement. LOL!

          “You didn’t add in any statement such as ‘Hey CommoChief is absolutely correct”

          As I said, I was just letting readers draw their own conclusions based on the evidence. I didn’t realize that’s a crime on this forum.

          CommoChief in reply to CommoChief. | May 9, 2023 at 8:43 am

          Ok Bro. You do you but try and keep up when the grown ups are talking. Maybe you shouldn’t skip leg day by coming here to embarrassing yourself with more projection?

          BeAChooser in reply to CommoChief. | May 9, 2023 at 12:41 pm

          CommoChief writes – “Ok Bro. You do you but try and keep up when the grown ups are talking.”

          LOL! Like I told you on the other thread when you switched to this tactic … when my opponents stoop to this, I know I’ve won the debate. 😛

          CommoChief in reply to CommoChief. | May 9, 2023 at 7:38 pm

          When the people who get weary of how you constantly shift from one weak argument to another after each is shot down in succession, then flip to attempting to clumsily projecting your insecurities resort to mild mockery it isn’t b/c you are winning.

          It’s their way of offering you a way out without subjecting yourself to harsh and unfeeling ridicule which makes no allowance for your state of mental health. Go talk to your Bros at the gym for advice and an outside perspective on self improvement, assuming you have any Bros who still put up with you.

    Crawford in reply to henrybowman. | May 7, 2023 at 9:49 pm

    Rather have someone who takes on the woke than someone who bows to it. Trump was the first on the “tr@nny in every bathroom” bandwagon.

    inspectorudy in reply to henrybowman. | May 8, 2023 at 1:12 am

    You are flat-out lying. He didn’t spend months telling us that he was not running. He NEVER answered the question when asked over and over. Why is it that you Trump trolls can’t ever find any lies that he spews daily but makeup ones about DeSantis because you can’t find any real ones?

    diver64 in reply to henrybowman. | May 8, 2023 at 3:19 am

    I don’t remember him saying he wouldn’t run.

    “Blame ‘deny and lie” are strategic innuendos usually reserved for Trump, who, incidentally is far more sincere because of his instinctive recourse to cause and effect. The natural law!
    DeSantis is bound to be a good candidate, however, Trump is an uncompromising, been-thru-the-mill, proven soul and he deserves the nomination and DeSantis’s support. The never-Trumpers seem inexplicably to have written this article (note the virtue signal to Tucker) and it’s disappointing to see here. A woke mechanism!

He was being cute and evasive. He many times said he was busy running the state of florida when asked, while meeting with the powers that be billionaires.
He has been running a shadow campaign for 2 years
I know he’s your “guy”, but it’s the truth

Even Tucker gives President Trump his due. He said he opened his eyes to deeper levels of the deep state than he ever knew was there and, and he lived there all his life, and that Trump was the only one saying, 5 years ago, but I know he was saying much more before that, in essence, that we should not get into these regional wars because it will align Russia with China, who for all purposes were enemies, and it has. Tucker says Trump has the ability to see the big picture in ways most of if not all politicans don’t.

Because of Biden’s insanity, we are no longer the world power, not sure we will ever get it back. His blundering and 200 billion of our tax dollars have caused these countries to align with China, Russia, look at Saudi Arabia , for 100 years it followed American direction, now, it says it’s independent, look at South America

Our dollar will not be the worlds measure anymore. It’s all insane.
Yes we must fight the culture war at home, but in reality it’s not the bigger picture. But like WW2 we are fighting 2 fronts, and Trump is the only one that can fight both the globalists and the culture murderers.

We are in dire straights, dire straights and we don’t need on the job training. Trump can make the deals no one else can.

I’m sorry, but word is DeSantis’s European vacation with the powers to be in Europe was far from stellar

Add these tidbits to the Pro-Trump supporter’s list of obstacles to overcome:

Jack Smith is nearing the end of his investigation into whether Trump committed crimes, according to a leak to The Wall Street Journal this weekend.

1) According to numerous leaks to CNN, WaPo, and New York Times, Jack Smith is preparing to charge Trump with obstruction of justice

2) Jack Smith is also investigating Trump’s efforts to challenge the 2020 election.

3) Last month it was reported Jack Smith was investigating Trump’s effort to raise money off of ‘false claims of election fraud.’

4) Federal prosecutors are investigating money raised between November 3, 2020, and January 20, 2021.

5) According to the latest leak to The Wall Street Journal, Jack Smith is tying up loose ends as he contemplates whether to bring charges against Trump.

The Wall Street Journal reported:

Special counsel Jack Smith is racing through a roster of interviews in his wide-ranging investigations related to former President Donald Trump, including with former Vice President Mike Pence and other top aides, as he contemplates filing charges, according to people familiar with the matter.

The steps prosecutors are taking, the people say, suggest Mr. Smith is in the late stages of his inquiry into Mr. Trump’s efforts to remain in power after the 2020 election. The special counsel is also considering whether the former president tried to obstruct a separate probe into the handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort by withholding material sought by the Justice Department.

The repeat testimony, sometimes brief, by some witnesses appears to point to efforts by Mr. Smith’s team to determine whether a crime was committed and decide whether to file charges in the coming months, people familiar with the questioning said.

Mr. Smith’s team has issued dozens of subpoenas including to those who had minor roles in Mr. Trump’s efforts to reverse the November 2020 election result, some of the people said, asking for grand-jury testimony from most. Several witnesses have been pressed on whether Mr. Trump’s political organization has been covering their legal bills and whether such payments affected their testimony, some of the people said.

Other witnesses had declined to appear, citing their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, other people familiar with the requests said.

Mr. Smith has also pushed forward on his inquiry into the handling of classified documents at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, calling back witnesses who had previously spoken to investigators, some of the people said. Those efforts resulted in a maid who had worked at the complex in Palm Beach having to fly in from abroad to testify, they said.

    gonzotx in reply to Ghostrider. | May 7, 2023 at 11:31 pm

    We know PRESIDENT Tump did NOT commit any crimes. But the punishment is the process, and you know both is true.

    Anyone, anyone who doesn’t believe that the 100 million spent by the fbi, cia, mi5, mi6, IRS, DOJ etc couldn’t find Jack sh!t and believe this?

    get a job rubbing DeSantis feet why don’t you

    The entire globalist WEF is coming down on our President and you can’t see through your RINO glasses

    Trump, for all his warts, is the cleanest guy in the world

    retiredcantbefired in reply to Ghostrider. | May 8, 2023 at 3:45 pm

    What’s the point of bringing up what Jack Smith is allegedly up to, unless your goal is to elect Democrats and to re-elect those already elected—BAMN?

    Who else would rely on DOJ leaks to Leftist “reporters” at the WSJ?

      Because most Americans correctly believe that Trump was acting horribly after the 2020 election, a majority are already predisposed to side with Jack Smith, and if what the Atlanta DA said has any truth behind it Jack Smith has video of Trump doing something that will be the ultimate turnoff to anyone who isn’t an only Trump guy (Trump demanding the State House Speaker award Trump the loser of the Georgia 2020 race the electors something the House Speaker correctly rejected).

      Furthermore Trump raised money to retire his campaign debt on how he would allege voter fraud in court (he never did that), and even if Jack Smith determines that kind of false advertising doesn’t amount to anything criminal it will be a further turnoff to independents.

      Those are just a couple of reasons I could list many more.

      Independents and moderates/people on the fence for the most part already hate Trump. The things that Jack Smith will put into the public eye would be extremely damaging to a popular man let alone someone the public already hates.

      The public has as a majority supported Alvin Bragg. (don’t believe me read this https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/3946952-majority-of-adults-support-alvin-braggs-felony-charges-against-trump-poll/#:~:text=A%20YouGov%2FThe%20Economist%20poll,percent%20say%20they%20strongly%20disapprove. )

      Unlike Jack Smith Alvin Bragg has a meritless case and he managed to get majority support for it.

      Let that sink in a jackass who openly campaigned on prosecuting Trump for something without naming a crime who came up with something absurd has majority support.

      What Jack Smith will put into the news is relevant because the Republican Nomination is not the election, and nominating somebody who can’t win……well Italians lived under fascism for 20 years during which Opera thrived, Ostia was excavated, a wide variety of Roman technological ability that historians dismissed as exaggerations became proven fact thanks to the excavation of the Lake Nemi ships….I could go on politics isn’t everything but nominating somebody who can’t win means you will be looking at what the rest is because we will lose all of our battles if we can’t retake the presidency.

        retiredcantbefired in reply to Danny. | May 9, 2023 at 3:46 pm

        If you want rid of Trump *for several of the exact same reasons Democrats say they want rid of him*… you might just be in favor of electing a Democrat. (Even some Democrats think Alvin Bragg has a nonexistent case against Trump.)

        Not to mention that if you liken what went well while Donald Trump was in office to what went well when Benito Mussolini ruled… Democrats love to compare Trump with Mussolini.

        Why should anyone accept what the DA in Fulton County has said? Why should anyone believe that if Jack Smith is seeking to indict Donald Trump, therefore the charges on which Smith seeks to indict Trump have merit? Leave that bovine discharge to Democrats.

        Let’s see what happens if Ron DeSantis wins the Republican nomination.

        Won’t DeSantis instantly become unacceptable… to a poster who regularly recycles Democratic Party talking points when not demanding unwavering support in the primaries for Republican officeholders who voted to impeach or convict Donald Trump? (Won’t we be hearing, in a few months, that only Pete Meijer has a chance of winning the open Senate seat in MI?)

    Danny in reply to Ghostrider. | May 8, 2023 at 9:02 pm

    I would add in we don’t have a good answer when we are asked about Trump’s life.

    I resorted to telling people the issue of abortion, and religious liberty is important enough to back a piece of garbage when confronted about Trump University.

    Things like Trump University among a host of others are liabilities that cost us votes. DeSantis does not have those skeletons.

      retiredcantbefired in reply to Danny. | May 9, 2023 at 3:53 pm

      None of this precludes frantically excavating for skeletons in DeSantis’s vicinity as we speak.

      It isn’t just the OnlyTrumpers who are at work digging.

False claims of election fraud

Lol

If you don’t believe the 2020 2022 elections weren’t stolen, there is no hope for you

Yawn.. going to bed. Fight with yourself

I’m staying out of this one, LOL.

To quote Rodney King — “Can’t we all just get along?” 🙂

Whoever the 2024 GOP presidential nominee is, we must unite behind him, because, believe me that he is going to have a tough time displacing the dotard-marionette who is currently occupying the White House geriatric ward, with the combined weight of the corrupt cabal triumvirate of Big Tech-Mainstream Media-FBI/Deep State engaging in their usual dirty tricks, protecting the dotard’s every move and advancing his narratives, while simultaneously denigrating and sabotaging the GOP candidate at every opportunity.

    inspectorudy in reply to guyjones. | May 8, 2023 at 1:26 am

    Many of us would like to “Just get along” and let the team debate and pick the best man but for some reason, one side doesn’t want that and like the Democrats, wants only their chosen man to be the one. No debates, no votes, and all of the lies and smears they can create. When did our party become a mirror image of the vile party of abortion, with women as second-class citizens, lying about everything that is wrong with our nation? Why are some using the same tactics as the Clintons? The Trump worshipers are doing the same thing as cnn, msnbc, all of the msm but claim to be for America. Why is it ok to bypass everything that makes us different from the other party? Are we at the win-at-any-price position? I know from being on this site that yes, there are win-at-any-price people here and just like every despot in the world, they meant well.

      You are doing exactly what you say you dislike. Attacks against Trump by Never Trumpers, even here, often parrot Democratic talking points. It’s fun to pretend that only one group has virtue, but there seems plenty of worship to spread around.

        There are no never Trumpers here we all are open about the fact we will support whoever wins the nomination, we all voted for him 2020.

        What there is is an acknowledgement of reality such as that Trump lost the 2020 election, lost us the red wave in 2022, lost us the Wisconsin Supreme Court 2023, cost us the senate in 2021, and is completely unelectable, not everything he says and does is good, and that he is a liability.

        There is also the reality that Hillary never visited Wisconsin, Pennsylvania or Michigan and considered them secure so didn’t seriously contest them, and that as soon as Democrats realized there error they started winning against Trump in those three states.

        We can acknowledge reality and avoid nominating Trump and win 2024, or we could have reality reassert itself and we lose the election.

          Even assuming there may be no such people here, that does not mean that the Never Trump talking points are not disseminated. Mean tweets first comes to mind. You can pretend there is no Never Trump rhetoric if you must. He gets it way worse than DeSantis. It’s a two way street. The players will do as they will, but too many people here, like on sports boards, act as if they are the players and the experts, rather than sitting in the nosebleed section with binoculars.

          As bad as candidate Trump will allegedly be, he’s beating Biden at this time, and his favorability is apparently growing. As 2024 approaches, people will be more aware of the corruption in the election process in 2020. They already miss Trump’s economy. In other words, prognostications to prove the future are worthless.

RepublicanRJL | May 8, 2023 at 6:22 am

Trump’s my guy but if DeSantis were to run and win, I wouldn’t have any issues.

pump the breaks

LOL spell checkautocorrect strikes again 🙂

Ghostrider | May 8, 2023 at 8:31 am

Critical thinking is hard.

People like to take shortcuts, often asking about the bottom line instead of doing the work. A majority of Americans want to be told. The media and the government know that the way to control how and for whom people vote is not by voter suppression or spreading misinformation but by not telling the truth—manipulation.

When a blog site or a political commentator on a cable news channel or social media space believes what they believe, the opinion the writer or commentator tells people becomes proof in people’s politically predisposed minds. (Think low-information voters)

The predominant problem is that most people seek validation, meaning they go to the news and political outlets where they can be told what they want to hear vs. engaging in intelligent discussions or debates with those with different views.

Unfortunately, we have reached a point where honest discourse among those who write commentary or bloviate on television and YouTube is abandoned for intellectually dishonest rhetoric and lying.

So, we have evolved somewhere between “I’m not arguing with you; I’m telling you why I’m right!”

People eventually reduce themselves to name-calling, and others employ ad hominem attacks against anyone and everyone who dares to disagree with people of an opposing point of view.

Telling the truth is a lost virtue because seeking the truth takes time to do.

    retiredcantbefired in reply to Ghostrider. | May 8, 2023 at 3:49 pm

    Critical thinking also needs to be applied to the latest from the Deep State via the “news” pages of the WSJ.

    Just sayin’.

E Howard Hunt | May 8, 2023 at 8:54 am

I wish someone new would step forward. There are concerning reports, that on his most recent European trade mission, DeSantis was declared an unimpressive lightweight by the UK’s top CEOs. This may be BS, but it does give me pause, regardless of Trump, on how this one trick pony might fare on the national stage.

    gonzotx in reply to E Howard Hunt. | May 8, 2023 at 11:54 am

    I posted upthread political article on this

    His clothes alone should have been 2 strikes alone

    Dear God his pants were rumpled, short as all heck and he had Cuban heels on

    If your short own it and get a freaking tailored suit

    At least Macron wears his midget size with grace

    By the way, I was excoriated for posting the article. No anti DeSantis information will be allowed form any source

    gonzotx in reply to E Howard Hunt. | May 8, 2023 at 11:56 am

    We do t need new we need President Trump

DeSantis is Trump’s new Cruz. That is, he and his people think DeSantis can be put away as Cruz was. However, DeSantis is a sitting Governor with a track record as an able administrator, who can now do things before our eyes.. Trump’s 2016 tiff with Cruz over “New York values” showed us that Trump was not committed to winning the culture war, because, to some degree he was on the wrong side of that. Has he changed? Trump’s life has been a moral disgrace,

Anyway, 2024 will be a fiasco no matter who the nominee is, unless wholesale voting and vote=counting abuses in key states stop. As President and since, Trump has whined a lot about this but done Zero,

MoeHowardwasright | May 8, 2023 at 8:59 am

Of course it was leaked by Trump’s team. It’s what they do. It’s why the majority have left Trump behind. Trump had a base, but that base is not a majority. The majority have had it up to “here” with the drama and pettiness. 40% of the country doesn’t want Trump or Biden. If the choice is Trump Vs Kennedy, I’ll vote Kennedy. If it’s DeSantis Vs anyone else, I’ll vote DeSantis. Trump owns fraudci and birx. That alone disqualifies him from being President again. FJB

Here in Florida a large segment of Republicans want DeSantis to stay as governor. Saying that, these “leaks” from Tucker to DeSantis makes them look more human and more likable.

As someone who still supports Trump, I see his campaign making more boneheaded moves that he is turning voters like me off.

    buck61 in reply to natdj. | May 8, 2023 at 12:01 pm

    As a fellow Florida resident I initially thought that the best course for DeSantis was to sit out 2024, complete your 8 years as governor, building up your record of accomplishments. Let Trump take on the DNC machine. Then after the eight years as governor are up due to term limits you have two full years to fund raise and campaign on top of the foundation that has been built to that point.
    I do think DeSantis has positioned himself as the clear second choice now if for some reason the machine makes Trump even more toxic to even more people to the point where he is unelectable even against the wildly unpopular Biden.
    Watching all of these anti DeSantis ads is is just free DNC research paid for by Repub pro Trump super PAC’s, now is not the time to fracture a party and keep people out of the process especially when it comes to people staying away from the voting booth.
    My issue has been with the RNC and their lack of effort to keep up with changing times, keeping someone in charge with a track record of failure on the biggest stages.

      Ghostrider in reply to buck61. | May 8, 2023 at 12:30 pm

      Yes Buck61, you nailed it

      BeAChooser in reply to buck61. | May 8, 2023 at 10:01 pm

      “these anti DeSantis ads [are] just free DNC research paid for by Repub pro Trump super PAC’s”

      You do know that most of DeSantis ads are paid for by UNIPARTY supporters? About that … why would Never Trump UNIPARTY elites want DeSantis elected, if, as claimed, he’s more electable than Trump? Still haven’t gotten a good answer to that. You want to try?

      I am suspicious, given all the money DeSantis is getting from the UNIPARTY, that he’s a stealth UNIPARTY supporter … entering the race to either disrupt Trump’s comeback or possibly be the intended UNIPARTY replacement for Biden. And that once he’s in power, he’ll do what FDR did … do the opposite of what he promised.

      It wouldn’t be the first time the UNIPARTY pulled that stunt. In fact, the first Presidential race where the UNIPARTY was involved pitted Teddy Roosevelt, a Fabian Socialist who pretended to be conservative Republican, against Woodrow Wilson … the *moderate* Democrat who turned out to even more of Fabian Socialist then Teddy would likely have been.

The Left LOVED Trump when they thought he’d run as a Democrat

https://twitter.com/4Mischief/status/1655435349303197697?s=20

gonzotex, if the election was today between a Democrat and DeSantis, would you vote for him?

    gonzotx in reply to Tom Orrow. | May 8, 2023 at 11:48 am

    I’m done voting for imposters, least evil, done it all my life and got McConnells

    When someone is bought, they stay bought

    Literally, I said 20 years ago, we need someone who is rich enough he can’t be bought amd loves this Country.

    We got him, Donald J Trump

    I would think with the global WORLD against him, loving Americans would fight to defend him

    Belit me, he’s all we got.

    They are letting DeSantis play culture wars but he will not be allowed to save this Country, he will not be allowed to economically make the decisions to make America Greater and safer

    I doubt very much he will be allowed to touch the boarder

    We are so screwed without Trump

I also have this thing about honesty and loyalty

DeSantis gets a F- in each, deal breaker for me

If Trump is murdered or thrown in jail, which they will do to prevent his 3rd term, much like Epstein, he will be murdered

Probably old Soviet style, with a poisoned umbrella or drink

Call me crazy all you want, but I’m right

    CommoChief in reply to gonzotx. | May 8, 2023 at 12:47 pm

    Not crazy just overzealous. You say you have a thing for Honest and Loyalty. Fair enough. Those are important and valuable things. Most of us appreciate those qualities. I certainly do.

    Honesty – Trump promised a border wall. He didn’t fulfil the promise. No whining about establishment opposition. The establishment opposed the border wall and any actual enforcement of our immigration laws to stop illegal crossings and aggressively locate and deport violators long before Trump announced his candidacy.

    The establishment, namely Ryan and McConnell, presented Trump a budget without full funding for his signature campaign promise. Did he use the power of his office to impose a Veto? Did the ‘Fighter’ choose to fight?Nah, he decided to let the establishment roll him and us thereby refusing to deliver on his central campaign promise to the voters. He meekly signed the budget and failed to grasp a historic opportunity to use the issue to break the back of the DC establishment.

    Loyalty – When Trump ran in ’16 DeSantis endorsed him. When DeSantis ran for Gov in ’18 Trump endorsed him. When Trump ran in ’20 DeSantis endorsed him again. Political endorsements are transactional, someone scratches your back and in turn you scratch theirs. Whatever you may think DeSantis has paid off the endorsement from ’18. To suggest otherwise is simply not a laughably unrealistic view. No one can be viewed as in an eternal debt to another when they pay it back 2x.

    buck61 in reply to gonzotx. | May 8, 2023 at 5:28 pm

    My biggest problem with Trump was many of the people he decided to surround himself with in the cabinet, agencies and staffers. I could create a long list of his hires that were abject failures in their positions, but I will list a few, Alexander Acosta at Labor with direct ties to the Epstein case, Chris Wray after Comey was gone, how has that worked out, the FBI is no better today than it was in Comey’s rein, Bill Barr, how did that work out., Elaine Chao, name one significant accomplishment by her except for being married to Mitch, Sean Spicer and Steve Scaramucci were horrible as spokesmen and didn’t last long.
    Then you have the entire crew running the covid response.
    He needs to admit that he made some mistakes with his inner circle and will correct that in a second term.

      CommoChief in reply to buck61. | May 8, 2023 at 8:49 pm

      Perhaps do what he did with potential Judicial Nominees? Get a list of three or four options for major cabinet posts and stick to the list? Start by keeping anyone within five degrees of separation of Jared Kushner off those lists.

Border, phone

maxmillion | May 8, 2023 at 1:46 pm

Trump accurately perceives DeSantis as a political opponent and treats him accordingly because they are, after all, in a primary race, and that seems to be a problem to no one except secret NeverTrumpers. Say it ain’t so, Prof.

    retiredcantbefired in reply to maxmillion. | May 8, 2023 at 4:26 pm

    The Prof will naturally have to speak for himself.

    I didn’t vote for Trump in 2016 because I remembered the way he and his operatives had slimed Ted Cruz. It wasn’t just about “New York values,” either. There were stories in the National Enquirer about Cruz’s alleged extramarital affairs, and about his father being involved in the John F. Kennedy assassination.

    The sliming of Ted Cruz didn’t last nearly as long as the sliming of Ron DeSantis already has. It began as Cruz was the last opponent standing during the primaries. This round of sliming started in November 2022 (!!!), more than a year before any primary or caucus is due to take place, and has reached a feverish pace while DeSantis has not yet declared he is running. (If DeSantis declares in July, it will be the same in the race at which Trump declared in 2015).

    The sliming of DeSantis is now frequently manifesting as a rejection of DeSantis’s policies. Perhaps if he gets the nomination, Donald Trump will continue to side with Disney Corp. (though I find that hard to believe). Surely Trump will perform a 180 on nearly everything else that his campaign is presently rejecting. Do Trump supporters envision their man going into 2024 applauding himself for bringing Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx into the White House? Will he move out of Mar a Lago because DeSantis has made Florida such a lousy place to live and do business?

    If all of this is merely tough campaigning against a political opponent in a primary race, I want to see maxmillion’s reaction to anything the slightest bit nasty directed by DeSantis operatives or spokespeople against Trump. Against a political opponent, all’s fair.

    Right?

    NeverTrumpers want to get Democrats elected (some will even stoop to promoting Trump in 2023, as long as they are sure his defeat in November 2024 can be arranged). DeSantis supporters want DeSantis to get elected. The longer Trump slimes DeSantis, the more DeSantis supporters he will permanently alienate.

    CommoChief in reply to maxmillion. | May 8, 2023 at 5:25 pm

    Never Trumpers are foolish useful idiots at best and actively hostile to those who wish to advance the ball at worst. The Only Trumpers fall into the same camp but from the inverse.

    Whomever the eventual GoP nominee is we MUST support them. Those morons who threaten to stay home
    if their candidate can’t win the GoP nomination are passively supporting Biden or whomever else the d/prog nominee is. It’s selfish, politically stupid and very likely to condemn our Nation to a very bad fate. I can’t imagine that anyone would be so petty as to actually pull the lever for Biden in a fit of ego driven pique but given some folks statements I can’t be positive.

    FWIW anyone who ever voted for Trump, even once, is Ipso Facto not a Never Trumper. They might very well be a ‘I’m tired of Trump Drama’ but that doesn’t have the same ring.

retiredcantbefired | May 8, 2023 at 7:18 pm

I voted for Trump in 2020. Despite being pissed at him then, I should have voted for him in 2016 (the Libertarian candidate wasn’t very good).

If Trump could sew up the nomination tomorrow, the decision would be easy. Of course I’d vote for him in the general.

If he wins the nomination, in real time, by sliming DeSantis for a year and a half, by obscuring or repudiating his own policy positions for a year and a half, by collaborating with our enemies for a year a half… I’ll pull the lever for Trump… with expectations set to super-low, and a clothespin over my nose.

Voting for Biden (or for Democrat To Be Named Later) remains unthinkable for large numbers of people. This doesn’t mean that Trump (or DeSantis, or any other contender, if there turns out to be another) will draw anything close to maximum support with, “You can see I’m awful, but Biden is beyond awful. You can see I’m slimy, but Biden’s beyond slimy. You can see I’ve made bad decisions (not that I’ll ever any admit any of mine were bad), but Biden’s are beyond bad. Ya just gotta vote for me!”

Ghostrider | May 9, 2023 at 3:30 am

Julie Kelly is predicting Democrats will orchestrate an indictment of President Donald Trump for events of January 6th, and they will demand he is jailed pending trial.

The Gateway Pundit reported Kelly joined Jesse Kelly on a podcast and explained bluntly what she believes Democrats are trying to orchestrate.

God help us all…

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/julie-kelly-the-doj-is-going-to-indict-trump-and-put-him-in-prison-until-his-trial-video/

    BeAChooser in reply to Ghostrider. | May 9, 2023 at 4:20 pm

    Far more than 8 points. But we knew this soon after the UNIPARTY stole 2020 … as soon as thoughts about a Trump/DeSantis ticket surfaced. Given Trump’s success as President, the size of his base, and how badly democRATS have messed up America since Biden took office, DeSantis has to have know that he would have been a shoe-in for VP under Trump in 2024.

    Then, given his age and Trump’s endorsement, he’s have been perfectly positioned as the heir apparent … a shoe-in for President in 2028. So his actions now show that he is either childishly (and foolishly) impatient or he was thinking of sabotaging Trump in this way from the very get-go. Maybe that’s why most of his money is from UNIPARTY supporters? Just saying …

      Danny in reply to BeAChooser. | May 9, 2023 at 4:45 pm

      Why are you here? Why the hell are you here?

      You clearly are beyond reason, and convinced there are no elections in this country (In other words YOU GAVE UP) so why are you here?

      Let us pick someone who could win if you are so convinced defeat is inevitable and laugh at us when we get egg on our face from losing, and spend your time productively. Upload some cat videos, go out and do some forest exploration, join your local archaeological dig as a volunteer…..do something healthy.

      If you have given up as you have why are you here?

      Unless of course the answer is you haven’t given up, you know Trump lost and can’t handle the idea that the first post Trump presidential nominee wins decisively proving that all of your conspiracy bs is bs.