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Donald, Don’t Do it
This is precisely the kind of petty behavior that confirms my belief that Trump should not be elected again. He’s decided that certain key people should state that they will step down if Trump decides to run for President in 2024. And he has Ron DeSantis in his sights.
Recently I heard a reporter ask Mike Pompeo, who I believe would be a very fine presidential candidate, if he would step down from a candidacy if Trump decided to run. Pompeo indirectly stated that Trump’s candidacy wouldn’t stop him from running. Chris Christie said something similar on Fox. But both of these men don’t have a high probability of being elected.
Why is Trump attacking? Ron DeSantis is a real threat.
I know we’re a long way from 2024, but Trump wants to get in his digs early.
Trump’s first attack was indirect. DeSantis was asked about his vaccine status, and he said he’d received the vaccine, but did not reveal whether he’d had the booster, and Trump wanted everyone to know that he did have the booster. Trump’s thinly veiled response: last week he seemed to swipe at DeSantis as ‘gutless’ politicians who dodge the question out of fear of blowback from vaccine skeptics.
How does Trump know that, and why does he care?
It turns out that Trump was booed recently at two speaking events in Alabama and Dallas when he encouraged people to get the vaccine. In contrast, DeSantis has kept current on the outcomes of getting the vaccines and the booster, and is highly critical of Anthony Fauci, the man whom Trump relied on.
In addition, Trump takes credit for getting DeSantis elected. (I don’t know if he’s mentioned how, until recently when DeSantis criticized lockdowns, DeSantis frequently stated his support for Trump.) But Trump demands loyalty, and he expects DeSantis’ loyalty to extend to declining a nomination for the Presidency.
Trump is entitled to wish for whatever he likes, including a lifetime support for his running a third time for the Presidency. He’s entitled to be disappointed, even angry, at DeSantis for not agreeing to step down if Trump runs again. But he’s wrong on several other counts. First, he’s going to garner criticism should he decide to run if he demands that DeSantis not run. Second, if he criticizes DeSantis because the governor won’t step down, his input could actually increase DeSantis’ chances for the nomination. Third, he could be threatening the chances of the Republican party winning the Presidency, due to the self-serving demands he’s making, which will suggest that the Republicans can be as inept as the Democrats. Finally, he could jeopardize the future of the country if he has a role in the Republicans losing the Presidency.
If Trump could be the adult in the room (as Biden tries to claim he is) and say he’d be “disappointed” if DeSantis would win, I’d be fine with that. And we don’t know what he’ll say over the next couple of years: he could back off or dial it up.
But I’m not holding my breath. Stay tuned.
Published in Politics
I think this whole thing is a Leftist media fantasy.
Do you “nominated” or “elected”? If he is nominated, I really want him to be elected.
Which part of it sounds like a “Leftist fantasy”?
Lately I’ve found that when something unpleasant happens with our favorite Republicans or Conservatives, people write it off as a Leftist media fantasy. I think it sounds just like something he would say. I hope he’s not nominated. If he is, I’ll reluctantly vote for him.
I would vote for him if he was the Republican candidate. (I voted for him twice before.) If he did nothing else in his entire life, he kept Hillary Clinton out of the White House.
That being said, I fervently hope that he steps out of politics. Frankly, at the end, I was totally worn out by Trump’s antics; the stupid tweets and, most of all, the turmoil in his own administration. Nothing has happened since then that would indicate he has learned anything.
If it comes to a choice between DeSantis and Trump, I’ll back DeSantis without a second thought.
Precisely where I am, CA. I’m ready to move on. And DeSantis would make an outstanding candidate.
I looked at the link – doesn’t seem to be very many quotes and even less context. The link read as typical media fake news: splashy assertions mostly, perhaps strategically arranged to appear more dramatic and contentious than they really are. Didn’t we go through this the last time around? What did he actually say? What was the context?
You live dangerously Susan, walking in a mine field that is Trump criticism…lol. Right now, I too agree that Trump is not the best candidate for 2024. In addition to his personality, he will also be de facto lame duck. That in itself will restrict his ability to get things done. But as I’ve said, I’ll leave my options open and if he makes the case in the primary he will get my support. If he wins the primary without my support he will get my support in the general election.
It is true that the Democrats are trying to start a Trump/DeSantis war.
The rule for 2022 that everyone must keep in mind: if the source is unnamed, he doesn’t exist. He’s a fiction invented by the “journalist.”
That would be my suspicion, too.
If Republicans want something better than Trump, they need to put their energies towards a candidate who is better than Trump rather than bashing Trump.
I can’t get past the first 1:30 minutes, but here’s one quote; note that he’s only heard from a couple of people
Where Trump was booed–
Jonathan Swan, I believe, has been pretty reliable.
Maybe they are trying to create controversy from the Left. It also doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
Oh no . . .
That name rang a bell for me, and now I’m trying to remember why . . . it wasn’t positive, I know that.
He’s been on Fox News and he’s also interviewed Trump. I thought he did a good job with Trump. He has also been straightforward on Fox.
My synapses are working overtime trying to remember. Internet is no help.
But anyway, this Axios thing is really getting play on the left. They love this internecine war.
Please note that none of my quotes or information come from Axios. Please don’t confuse want you found and what the OP says.
I hope you’ve seen my follow-on comments and the videos below, Ed.
One can go ahead and get the shots and the “booster” (more like a mulligan) and still think that the mandate is contrary to the Constitution.
And I think Trump and DeSantis are both against mandates.
Sorry, Susan, but I can’t bear even 30 seconds of Trump. He’s one of the two or three most obnoxious politicians I have ever witnessed perform.
The person the Left is really afraid of is DeSantis. That’s why they’re trying desperately to gin up a feud between him and Trump.
Personally, I’m with you. I wish Trump would not run but endorse. We’ve got a lot of work to do to un-screw the country from four years of Biden, and no energy to waste on ego and nonsense.
Susan, I agree completely. The worst thing that could happen for Republicans in 2024 would be for Trump to run again. Depending on what happens in 2022 and how Republicans behave, we may very well have a great deal of momentum on our side; this country may, in fact, be moving in the right direction for the first time in many years.
No, I’m just seeing all kinds of lefty news outlets promoting the Axios story.
I don’t listen to him. I just watch what he does.
I had to stop at 48 seconds.
That’s what I did when he was in office. On balance, he did some good things. But it’s almost impossible to feel good about most of the stuff he said.
Here’s another take:
Trump Aides See the Hand of McConnell in Promoting the Idea of a Feud With DeSantis
That’s as speculative as the stuff from the Left. “The Hand of McConnell”??
I made it 4 minutes. Nothing in there actually supports the premise of the link in the OP. It’s speculation (and MSNBC disingenuous nonsense) all the way down.
And you stink for making me listen to any part of Mika and Joe and their band of fakers. ;D
I don’t doubt that Trump gets boos sometimes. Still, none of that supports the premise of the link in the OP.