Trump is preparing an extensive opposition file with Ron DeSanctimonious

[ad_1]

The team itself felt he had a free ride without scrutiny for several years, said Bryan Lanza, who worked on Trumps 2016 campaign and remains close to Trumps team. Just because he is aggressive and willing to fight doesn’t make him MAGA. MAGA is the rules and there is a tremendous amount of sunshine between Trump’s rules and DeSantis’ rules. The more that is highlighted, the more DeSantis will be exposed as just another member of the establishment and compared to Jeb Bush.

The preparations are the latest sign of a bruising primary battle to come, one that could make the 2016 primary fireworks look pale by comparison. It’s a high-risk, high-reward play. The child pornography charges, for one, mirror those used by Republican Senators against then-Supreme Court Justice nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson. And in DeSantis’ case, his contemporaries insist that the plea deals he signed were unusual.

To make any allegation that he is soft on any kind of case, especially child pornography, is just ridiculous. It defies the logic of what I’ve seen in the office or what my office would allow to happen, Ronald Henry, a retired assistant US Attorney who served as DeSantis’ supervisor when he was a special assistant US Attorney, told POLITICO. He’s not a lone wolf on his own making deals without the full weight of the US Attorneys office overseeing what he’s doing.

Now, Trump has seen some notable defections in his camp, with former allies citing past presidents’ antics.

Trump is a good man in policy and I put him up there with Ronald Reagan in policy, but as president he was a disaster in the way he acted, calling people names, said former congressman Tom Marino , who co-chaired Trumps 2015 campaign in Pennsylvania but now supports DeSantis. Hes just not a nice person If he thinks he had trouble being elected before, there are more and more people out there across the country who said I was for him the first time, the second time, but what’s going on and his problems I don’ t think I can support him.

Trump didn’t wait to launch into what was expected to be a broad anti-DeSantis primary. He took digs at Florida governors for their support of raising the retirement age and privatizing Social Security and Medicare, raised awkward questions about DeSantis’ time as a teacher in Georgia, and considered the various nicknames for the governor including Ron Establishment and Tiny D, which he told reporters he likes. Right now he’s dealing with Ron DeSanctimonious, or, for short, DeSanctus. Trump denied he was considering another oft-mentioned nickname Meatball Ron and told reporters it was too crude.

I’m a very honest person, Trump told a small group of reporters en route to Iowa on Monday. Theres no hostility but I think its a strange thing he was out of politics, he was dead I dont think its nasty. Im a very loyal person so I don’t understand disloyalty but you do see it in politics.

Trump even released a video Tuesday praising previous Florida governors and saying the state was doing well before DeSantis. The sunshine and the ocean are very attractive, it’s not too difficult to do with those factors.

The Trump campaign’s goal is to capitalize on the months before DeSantis’ announcement by launching new lines of attack on the Florida governor and painting him as an establishment favorite, not the heir to the throne of Swollen.

DeSantis himself dismissed Trump’s attacks as mere noise.

A spokesman for DeSantis declined to comment.

DeSantis doesn’t need to promote himself, Marino said. He is a leader. He doesn’t call people names. He doesn’t make girls laugh. That’s an easy one. I really mean Trump is a policy genius and he really blew it. I told him about it. He knows everything.

In public remarks, DeSantis contrasted Trump without naming him by emphasizing his landslide victory in 2022, noting that he does not rely on the polls that are a favorite tool of the Trumps to dictate decisions. , and his administration is leak free.

But the rivalry that has been simmering for months could begin to boil over as the two men hit the country, hobnobbed with donors in the wealthy enclave of Palm Beach, and began drawing out key campaign support.

On Friday, DeSantis made two stops in Iowa as part of a tour for his book, The Courage to Be Free, and visited Nevada on Saturday. Trump visited Iowa on Monday for a roundtable on education policy.

As DeSantis spoke to Iowans, Trump went after the Florida governor on Truth Social, taking aim at his very small crowd, his support for ending an ethanol mandate, and his votes on Social Security. and Medicare.

Copies of the book by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “The Courage to Be Free” is given before he speaks at an event on March 10, 2023. | Ron Johnson/AP Photo

DeSantis did not mention 2024 during his speech in Iowa, but his decision to visit the state that holds the first contest on the Republican nomination calendar indicated that he is doing more than flirting with a run. DeSantis is not expected to make a presidential announcement until after Florida’s legislative session ends in May.

The visit to DeSantis Iowa comes as a newly aligned group, the Never Back Down PAC, launched Thursday. That group is led by Ken Cuccinelli, one of Trump’s former administration officials. And in a potential sign of defects to come, Marino and another former Trump booster, Lou Barletta of Pennsylvania, also announced they plan to support the committee.

Some Trump allies acknowledge that DeSantis is attracting deep-pocketed donors and some establishment Republicans eager to move on from Trump’s ongoing turmoil. They say it could be difficult for him to unite that group and some of the populist, right-wing voters who have been part of the former president’s base in the past.

Trumps team tried to drive a wedge between the two by highlighting DeSantis’ voting record in Congress on support for military involvement overseas and entitlement cuts. They also want to follow DeSantis’ response to Covid, although it’s unclear how strong a line of attack will be among voters who have seen thousands flock to the Sunshine State during the pandemic.

But they also plan to highlight what is described as the personality factor. Trump’s allies say the Florida governor can be awkward and mechanical in public, and note that he has largely avoided the press. To contrast that, Trumps team organized a trip to East Palestine, Ohio to draw attention to the train derailment there and reach out to residents affected by the crash. They gave local and national media opportunities to ask Trump questions, and scheduled unannounced stops at places like McDonalds where he could interact with the public.

Trumps team also sees an inherent advantage within their ranks. Top lieutenants for Trumps campaign and aligned PAC, include Susie Wiles, Jason Miller, Taylor Budowich, Justin Caporale, and Tony Fabrizio, all of whom have previous experience working for DeSantis.

One of the Trump aides noted that this was a reflection of DeSantis’ high staff turnover, although Trump himself has rotated through dozens of top aides over the years, often in a very tumultuous and public fashion a fact DeSantis mentioned. In fact, some of the Trump administration’s top officials like Haley, Pence, and Pompeo, have announced a presidential run or are actively considering it.

You look at my administration, part of the reason were able to do well, theyre not leaking to the media, we dont have palace intrigue, we dont have any drama. Implementing it every single day, and we end up defeating the left every single day for four years, DeSantis said in Des Moines.

When POLITICO asked at the recent CPAC gathering what that might say about his own leadership, Trump described his former cabinet officials as ambitious and said he was proud of their accomplishments working under him. The more the merrier, he added as they entered the campaign.

Alex Isenstadt contributed to this report from Davenport, Iowa.

[ad_2]