Ron DeSantis is criticizing Donald Trump’s supporters ahead of the first Republican primary debate, hosted by Fox News.
On Friday, the Florida governor and 2024 presidential hopeful, 44, told The Florida Standard that Trump supporters were “listless vessels.”
Making a reference to claims that he is a RINO (Republican in Name Only), DeSantis added that there’s “a strand in our party that views supporting Trump as whether you are a RINO or not.”
“You can be the most conservative person since sliced bread,” he said, but “unless you’re kissing his rear end, they will somehow call you a RINO. So unless you’re totally detached from principle and what you actually believe — and results — it’s more about, you know, what faction you happen to do.”
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks with Erick Erickson at The Gathering in Atlanta on Aug. 18, 2023.
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Speaking about how he believes this extends as far as Capitol Hill, DeSantis said that Trump’s followers will back politicians with “incredibly liberal left-wing records” just because they support the former president. DeSantis claims that his own backers are different because they “have records of principle.”
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The governor’s comments come days before the first 2024 Republican debate in Milwaukee on Wednesday, which Trump said he would not attend over the weekend.
“The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. “I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!”
A source told NBC News that the decision covers the first two debates, while also leaving the door open over whether Trump may change his mind at some point in the future.
Trump Crushes DeSantis in New Republican Primary Poll, Despite Florida Governor’s Heavy Campaigning
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Donald Trump departs Trump Tower to head to a Manhattan courthouse to answer to criminal charges on April 4, 2023.
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Even on the heels of four historic indictments, Trump sits about 40 points ahead of the rest of the Republican candidates according to 2024 primary polling averages, with DeSantis situated in a distant second place.
DeSantis, once seen as a strong challenger to the former president, has struggled to get the support he expected since launching his campaign, ultimately laying off about a third of his staff this summer for financial reasons.
Some of the wealthiest GOP donors have also reportedly reconsidered their support of DeSantis’ candidacy, citing his extremist views as a liability.
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Source: HIS Education