Trump has just released a ridiculous attack against Governor DeSantis tonight. The ad is very petty and dishonest, as Trump attempts to take credit for the success of DeSantis in Florida, while accusing DeSantis of now attacking him.
Here’s the ad:
I’ve gone back and looked at the polling and it was very up and down in the 2018 Republican Primary.
From the beginning of the year until the day Trump endorsed DeSantis, Adam Putnam led DeSantis in 8 polls and DeSantis led Putnam in 6 polls. Then came Trump’s endorsement and that did help DeSantis consistently gain the upper hand in polling.
Giancarlo Sopo came to a similar conclusion:
Yes, Trump’s endorsement did help. But to suggest that his endorsement supersedes all the work that DeSantis did on the campaign trail to win over voters, so that DeSantis owes his entire gubernatorial political career and his undying loyalty to Trump is, well, preposterous.
But what really got my goat from this ad is the big fat lie Trump tells right in the middle of it: “Unfortunately, instead of being grateful, DeSantis is now attacking the very man who saved his career.”
That is not remotely true! All the attacks between the two men are all one-sided: Trump is doing ALL the attacking. And it’s absurd for Trump to suggest otherwise.
Trump began attacking DeSantis in November of last year after the media began recognizing just how amazing his big win was in Florida and how it lifted nearly all Republican boats to massive wins.
And then came the questions about whether DeSantis was going to ride this wave into the 2024 elections. DeSantis told reporters he wasn’t even thinking about 2024 and that’s when Trump lost it. DeSantis wouldn’t bow down and kiss Trump’s ring and vow not to run against him and so Trump began insinuating that DeSantis is a pedophile and saying that he’s a horrible governor.
From November of last year until now, Trump has done ALL the attacking. DeSantis has done nothing to attack Trump.