The presidential race is Trump’s for the taking if he can keep it up. But one person just threw a major wrench in his plans.
And this top Republican blindsides Donald Trump with sudden announcement.
If you look at the FiveThirtyEight national poll averages, Trump is garnering a whopping 52.7% of Republican support in the primary.
His closest contender is Ron DeSantis with 15.3% of the Republican electorate. No one else even cracks double digits.
With such a commanding lead, you would think Trump would lay low – why punch down against good Republicans when you’re so far ahead, right?
All that would accomplish is muddying up solid conservatives who could be cabinet picks, senators, governors, and the like.
But that hasn’t stopped Trump from honing in on one candidate – Ron DeSantis – as the target of his ire.
If you put aside the name-calling, Trump’s main criticism is that DeSantis was disloyal to him for deciding to run.
But the Florida Governor wasn’t having any of it in a recent interview.
Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis rejected former President Donald Trump’s assertion that he was “disloyal” for running in the 2024 presidential election, claiming that politicians are not “entitled” to voter support.
When asked about Trump’s assertion that DeSantis “came over and begged him for an endorsement with tears coming down from your eyes” during the 2018 Florida gubernatorial race, the Florida governor made the statements late last week during an interview with Megyn Kelly.
DeSantis dismissed the accusation, saying he met Trump on Air Force One and asked for his support, and Trump agreed.
“But here’s the thing, politicians have to earn support,” DeSantis said.
“Nobody’s entitled to support. You know, I am loyal to my family. I am loyal to our Constitution. I am loyal to God. That is where my loyalty goes, I will work with politicians to try to advance what I believe is in the best interests of Florida and the country. But at the end of the day, it’s about who can get the job done. And that’s how I view it.”
“And it is interesting. He doesn’t say that about his own vice president running against him, he doesn’t say that about his ambassador to the U.N. running against him,” he continued.
“He does not say that about other people he endorsed in the past, who are now running against him. He only says that about me, because I think he construes me as the only threat to his winning the nomination.”
When asked about Trump fans who say it’s not DeSantis’ “turn” and that Trump “deserves” another chance because he was “screwed” over during his first term and during the election, DeSantis responded it’s not how America works.
“We’re a republic, we are not a monarchy, it’s nobody’s turn,” DeSantis said.
“You have every right to put yourself forward. You know, I believe at this point in history, 2024’s make or break for this country. I am not running to be President, I am running to do something as president for the country.”
“I think I am the guy that can win the primary, win the general election, and then deliver on all of these things and do it for two terms, which I think is really important, because if you look at Trump’s first term, he did a lot of good things, Biden reversed almost everything on day one, I think we do need two terms for this stuff to really, really stick. And so I think that I am the only guy that fits that bill,” he continued.
“So I have responsibility to step up and offer myself for service.”
Governor Ron DeSantis reject’s Trump’s claim that he is “disloyal” for running: “Politicians have to earn support. Nobody's entitled to support. You know, I am loyal to my family. I am loyal to our Constitution. I am loyal to God. That is where my loyalty goes, I will work with… pic.twitter.com/0iwaKP3NZE
— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) July 31, 2023
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.
