On Thursday, former President Donald Trump released a lengthy statement bashing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, as the Republican reportedly considers a bid for the White House in 2024 after a dominant victory in his home state.
“Now that midterms are over, and a success,” Trump began, “NewsCorp, which is Fox, the Wall Street Journal, and the no longer great New York Post (bring back Col!), is all in for Governor Ron DeSanctimonious, an average REPUBLICAN Governor with great Public Relations, who didn’t have to close up his State, but did, unlike other Republican Governors, whose overall numbers for a Republican, were just average—middle of the pack—including COVID, and who has the advantage of SUNSHINE, where people from badly run States up North would go no matter who the Governor was, just like I did!
“Ron came to me in desperate shape in 2017—he was politically dead, losing in a landslide to a very good Agriculture Commissioner, Adam Putnam, who was loaded up with cash and great poll numbers,” Trump continued. “Ron had low approval, bad polls, and no money, but he said that if I would Endorse him, he could win. I didn’t know Adam so I said, ‘Let’s give it a shot, Ron.’”
Trump continued, claiming that his endorsement was as if “to use a bad term, a nuclear weapon went off. Years later, they were the exact words that Adam Putnam used in describing Ron’s Endorsement. He said, “I went from having it made, with no competition, to immediately getting absolutely clobbered after your Endorsement.” I then got Ron by the ‘Star’ of the Democrat Party, Andrew Gillum (who was later revealed to be a “Crack Head”), by having two massive Rallies with tens of thousands of people at each one.
“I also fixed his campaign, which had completely fallen apart. I was all in for Ron, and he beat Gillum, but after the Race, when votes were being stolen by the corrupt Election process in Broward County, and Ron was going down ten thousand votes a day, along with now-Senator Rick Scott, I sent in the FBI and the U.S. Attorneys, and the ballot theft immediately ended, just prior to them running out of the votes necessary to win. I stopped his Election from being stolen,” Trump said.
“And now, Ron DeSanctimonious is playing games! The Fake News asks him if he’s going to run if President Trump runs, and he says, ‘I’m only focused on the Governor’s race, I’m not looking into the future.’” Trump continued. “Well, in terms of loyalty and class, that’s really not the right answer…This is just like 2015 and 2016, a Media Assault (Collusion!), when Fox News fought me to the end until I won, and then they couldn’t have been nicer or more supportive.”
Trump concluded the statement, saying, “The Wall Street Journal loved Low Energy Jeb Bush, and a succession of other people as they rapidly disappeared from sight, finally falling in line with me after I easily knocked them out, one by one, We’re in exactly the same position now. They will keep coming after us, MAGA, but ultimately, we will win. Put America First and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
The statement comes as Trump and his advisers have been attempting to warn DeSantis away from a potential bid at the White House. On November 6, Trump used the nickname “Ron DeSanctimonious” for the first time during a speech prior to the midterms, which he repeated in his Thursday statement, and on November 8, the day of the midterm elections, Trump warned that DeSantis “could hurt himself very badly” if he were to run. A lawyer for Trump also warned DeSantis to “stay in Florida.”
Some, however, quickly defended the Republican governor, including former Trump secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who encouraged people to vote for DeSantis in the days before the midterms.
Trump had endorsed several high-profile candidates who lost their races, including celebrity television doctor Mehmet Oz in the race for Pennsylvania Senate, one of the most closely watched races across the country, and New York governor hopeful Lee Zeldin facing democrat incumbent Kathy Hochul.
DeSantis, meanwhile, had an incredibly successful night, sweeping his state and defeating Democratic challenger Charlie Crist in a landslide, winning by nearly 20 percentage points, even flipping deep blue Miami-Dade county.
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