Tag: Trump-DeSantis feud

GOP Strategist: A Word to DeSantis

Buck Banks

“There is no good way for DeSantis to attack Trump about Jan. 6 or anything else. There is no point in chaining a goat to a stake in front of a T. Rex, then asking the goat to assault the T. Rex. It has not worked out well for other goats, many stronger and smarter than this one… So, no, I would not advise the candidate who lost to the Mouseketeers to attack the T. Rex.”

— GOP strategist Alex Castellanos, quoted by Slate, giving advice to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis’s Trump Problem

Buck Banks

“The problem for DeSantis, who appears on the verge of officially entering the 2024 race, is that in order to make the case he is more electable than Trump this time around, he needs to debunk the lie that Trump actually beat Biden last time. … As Republican consultant Alex Conant told Politico: ‘If a candidate can’t dispose of a fake issue like who won the election, how can voters expect them to handle the real issues?’”

— Molly Jong-Fast

Call Me ‘DeSanctimonious’

Buck Banks

“I don’t really know what it means, but I kinda like it, it’s long, it’s got a lot of vowels. We’ll go with that, that’s fine. I mean you can call me whatever you want, just as long as you also call me a winner because that’s what we’ve been able to do in Florida, is put a lot of points on the board and really take this State to the next level.”

— Gov. Ron DeSantis, when asked about Donald Trump’s “Ron DeSantimonius” nickname for him.

DeSantis Is in a Tough Spot

Buck Banks

“It’s a really tough situation for DeSantis. If he starts punching at Trump, he’s going to anger a lot of the people he needs to vote for him. But if you are viewed as weak and cower in response to attacks from Trump, that will be seen as a proxy for how you will be seen as a Republican nominee and how you’ll be as president.”

— — Democratic strategist Tommy Vietor, quoted by the New York Times.

More Republicans Prefer DeSantis Over Trump

Buck Banks

42% to 35%

A new YouGov poll conducted after the midterm elections finds more Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents now say they’d prefer Ron DeSantis as their 2024 presidential nominee over Donald Trump, 42% to 35%. That’s a reversal from nearly a month ago, when a Yahoo News/YouGov poll found just 35% preferred DeSantis and 45% said they preferred Trump.

DeSantis Offers His Own ‘Total Bunk’ on Rift with Trump

Buck Banks

“Donald Trump’s a friend of mine. He is proud when people do well, and it’s not just me, but obviously he’s a Florida resident, and he appreciates the job that we’ve done. He’s told me that many times, not only with helping with the election, but just how we govern the state.”

— Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) told Fox News that reports that his relationship with former President Trump has become frayed are “total bunk.”