The midterm elections were bad for Donald Trump at almost every level. Trump’s dream of a red wave propelling his 2024 re-election is now dead in the water. There was no red wave, and many of the Trump-endorsed candidates lost, sometimes not even in particularly tight races. Worse yet, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis won reelection handily and DeSantis is now being touted as the face of the new, post-Trump Republican Party. DeSantis isn’t any better or worse than Trump, he’s just… Trump-as-Florida-governor. All of the same evil policies, all of the same racism and misogyny, just in a different package.
The NY Times ran a sad-sack story about Trumpland post-election and how Trump’s efforts were all for naught. Maggie Haberman co-authored the piece, which means that the actual awful destructiveness of everything around Trump was soft-pedaled to the extreme, almost as if the Times’s official position on Trump is set to “wistful longing.” Other political reporting went a bit deeper, thankfully. From ABC News:
Bigly fuming: Sources close to Trump described him as “fuming” at his Mar-a-Lago estate Tuesday night as GOP candidates he had backed started to lose or underperform. In addition, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ strong performance in Trump’s adopted home state was a wakeup call for some Trump advisers, sources said. DeSantis, seen as a potential 2024 presidential rival for Trump, easily won reelection. “This is a sinking ship,” one top Trump adviser told ABC News. “We’re not going to beat that.”
The dawn of the DeSantis era: “This was the end of the Trump era and the dawn of the DeSantis era,” a Republican operative close to the Trump orbit told ABC News. “Like every other Trump catastrophe, he did this to himself with stupid and reckless decisions.”
Bigly unhappy with Melania: Sources say Trump has been angry with his wife, Melania, and Fox News host Sean Hannity, for pushing Trump to endorse Oz. The former president is also blaming aides for misguiding him on some of his other endorsements.
The saddest treason war-room: As the results came in, the phones of Trump’s top political aides began ringing off the hook — and by the end of the night only a handful of aides remained around him, sources told ABC News. As the night progressed, Trump told top aides he wasn’t particularly interested in addressing the crowd he had gathered there, although he did end up speaking for a few minutes, telling the crowd that the numbers were “amazing” so far.
When he’ll announce his 2024 run: Trump announced on Monday that he planned to make a “big announcement” next week about plans for his 2024 presidential run. Some close to Trump told ABC News they hope the vague nature of the statement could give him an escape hatch should he decide not to run. But others who have spoken with Trump say he’s unlikely to renege on his plans because he’s spent the last two years teasing a run, official announcement or not. “Hard to back out now,” one adviser said.
I’m sorry, but he’s going to announce his candidacy for 2024 just because it would be too tough to renege on his bigly plans? That’s some Elon Musk-esque strategizing. “I can’t actually afford to buy Twitter for $44 billion but I also don’t want to admit that I’m broke-ass, so sure, I’ll buy it!” And now we’ve got “I know no one wants what I have to offer but I’m going to run for president anyway, just because I can’t admit that I suck!” I’m also just… shocked? Shocked that Melania would even chime in about Dr. Oz, shocked that Trump’s advisors are admitting that the SS Hamberder Fart Machine is dead in the water. Shocked that DeSantis managed to outmaneuver Trump so effectively too.
LOL, inject this into my veins:
This adviser said it’s unlikely Trump would delay his expected presidential announcement because “it’s too humiliating to delay.” But the adviser said there are too many unknowns at this point.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) November 9, 2022
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.
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- Washington, DC – United States President Donald J. Trump meets with Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto in the Oval Office of the White House. Pictured: United States President Donald J. Trump BACKGRID USA 2 OCTOBER 2019 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Washington, DC – United States President Donald Trump speaks to the media accompanied by the First Lady, Melania Trump, before boarding the Marine One helicopter for the state of Florida. In Washington D.C., United States, January 20, 2021. Trump left Washington four hours before Joe Biden’s inauguration as the country’s new president, thus not attending his successor’s inauguration ceremony, and did so leaving Americans more politically divided than when he arrived. Pictured: United States President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump BACKGRID USA 20 JANUARY 2021 BYLINE MUST READ: Lagencia Grosby / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- West Palm Beach, FL – President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport on January 20, 2021 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Pictured: President Donald Trump, Melania Trump BACKGRID USA 20 JANUARY 2021 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Weslaco, TX – Former President Donald Trump attends a border security briefing to discuss further plans in securing the southern border wall in Weslaco, Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to build a state-funded border wall between Texas and Mexico as a surge of mostly Central American immigrants crossing into the United States has challenged U.S. immigration agencies. So far in 2021, U.S. Border Patrol agents have apprehended more than 900,000 immigrants crossing into the United States on the southern border. Pictured: Former President Donald Trump BACKGRID USA 30 JUNE 2021 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Weslaco, TX – Former President Donald Trump attends a border security briefing to discuss further plans in securing the southern border wall in Weslaco, Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to build a state-funded border wall between Texas and Mexico as a surge of mostly Central American immigrants crossing into the United States has challenged U.S. immigration agencies. So far in 2021, U.S. Border Patrol agents have apprehended more than 900,000 immigrants crossing into the United States on the southern border. Pictured: Greg Abbott, Former President Donald Trump BACKGRID USA 30 JUNE 2021 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Weslaco, TX – Former President Donald Trump attends a border security briefing to discuss further plans in securing the southern border wall in Weslaco, Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to build a state-funded border wall between Texas and Mexico as a surge of mostly Central American immigrants crossing into the United States has challenged U.S. immigration agencies. So far in 2021, U.S. Border Patrol agents have apprehended more than 900,000 immigrants crossing into the United States on the southern border. Pictured: Former President Donald Trump BACKGRID USA 30 JUNE 2021 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY – Former U.S. President DOnald J. Trump, 76, gestures at supporters, with a clenched right fist held high on streets of Manhattan today. Just after Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination testifying at the NY attorney general’s long-running civil investigation into his business dealings. Trump stated, “I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?’ Now I know the answer to that question. When your family, your company, and all the people in your orbit have become the targets of an unfounded politically motivated Witch Hunt supported by lawyers, prosecutors … you have no choice.” Legal experts chimed in saying, answering questions in a deposition was risky because anything he said could potentially be used against him in a parallel criminal investigation by the Manhattan district attorney. The Fifth Amendment protects people from being compelled to be a witness against themselves in a criminal case. NY AG James, a Democrat, has said in court filings that her office has uncovered “significant” evidence that Trump’s company “used fraudulent or misleading asset valuations to obtain a host of economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions.”James alleges the Trump Organization exaggerated the value of its holdings to impress lenders or misstated what land was worth to slash its tax burden. Pictured: Donald Trump BACKGRID USA 10 AUGUST 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- The funeral of Ivana Trump at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church Featuring: Donald Trump and Melania Trump Where: New York, New York, United States When: 20 Jul 2022 Credit: JOHN NACION/startraksphoto.com/Cover Images
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- Former President Donald Trump at the 2022 LIV Golf Tournament at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey on July 31, 2022. Featuring: Donald Trump Where: Bedminster, New Jersey, United States When: 31 Jul 2022 Credit: Media Punch/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images
fun to watch trump implode but also genuinely terrified of de santis’s growing clout, and the very real possibility that he could be our next president.
So am I @Naomi. So am I. In Europe the very scary right wing parties have left the fringes by spewing forth candidates who are more capable of cosplaying “normal.” Here in Holland it’s the difference between Geert Wilders and Thierry Baudet. In France, Marine Le Pen does a better job than her shrieky father. People are not going to view De Santis as being more dangerous to society than Trump and that is dead scary.
Wilders had 17 seats at the last elections.
Baudet had 8 seats. He only has 5 left, because as so often with those parties, some people left to start their own party while keeping the seats.
While their presence is worrying, that is out of 150 seats, so they’re far from any kind of majority, even put together.
I hope it stays that way.
Yep, that’s the message I took away from this election. I’m actually shocked how many democrats I see celebrating. I suspect they’re still going to take Congress once everything is counted, and we should all be afraid of DeSantis running in 2024. He’s Trump without the insanity and who is actually competent. He’s extremely dangerous. Democrats better be prepared to turn out in force in 2024.
I agree that DeSantis is scarier even than Trump. I’m hoping Trump throws enough tantrums that he splits the base and diminishes DeSantis’ power. Trump won’t go quietly, I bet.
One encouraging reality from this election cycle is that young people (under 30) went for Democrats by a big margin. I even saw one Republican pundit call for raising the voting age to 21!
DeSantis really scares me. He’s dangerous.
Desantis is more competent, but his policies are still overwhelmingly unpopular outside of Florida. and people vote more in presidential elections than midterms.
I’m celebrating that we didn’t get shellacked and lose dozens of seats in Congress, but also concerned about DeSantis for 2024.
DeSantis is very scary and we can’t sleep on him. BUT is it a huge help for 2024 that Democrats took (or kept) some key governorships and state houses (go Michigan, PA, and Minn!) That will help a lot in making sure that 2024 doesn’t have too many shenanigans. But we’ve got to keep rejecting these awful politicians and policies.
Veronica S, I agree. He’s Trump but with smarts. Scary.
I pray that Democrats find a great candidate and get clear talking points on why Democratic policies are better for the country. I’m in HR and I look at this like I would a talent strategy for a company…. We need to develop a pipeline of talent (which the governorships do help) and we need to strengthen the elevator speech for our platform. Jason Kander is great at this, Pete B is also strong but we’ve got to grow that pool beyond white men.
Democrats will show up for a strong candidate. I don’t think Biden will get independents to the polls though.
Absolutely agree re: DeSantis. He’s as awful as Trump, as cruel and hateful and evil, but he’s much smarter and actually competent. He is a very real danger. Very very worried.
He’s not competent. He let COVID ravage his state.
We’ve ALL got to do stuff to prevent a Republican (likely DeSantis) from being elected President. We’ve got to convince every single voter in America to VOTE.—Because i still believe that there are more people than not, who can see that the Republican Party is evil. We need to rouse the GenZ voters. The youngest voters are largely Democrats. We need to rally to get them to turn up to the polls. We all have to make damn sure that a Republican isn’t elected.
You know what? I hope he has to run independent and they end up splitting the red vote.
There is a real possibility the republicans will take the House and Senate. And who knows about the presidency in 2 years. These are scary times.
DeSantis is anti-abortion and that is a huge liability in a general election. He us on record.
Republicans will most likely not take over Senate. They may still get the House.
The red wave never happened
I’m as terrified of a DeSantis presidency as any of you are, but I’m enjoying some schadenfreude at the idea that in order from T***p to run, he’d have to admit he lost in 2020. No one can be elected to the presidency more than once….
OMG how does he manage to look sooo orange AND look like he is wearing black face at the same time. Melania really DGAF about that man, my hubby would not leave the house like that.
De Santis is everything Trump is not. Smart, calculating, showered, in control of his bowels and his mouth..the list goes on. He is the golden guy for the republican party.
And that is really scary @K!
That’s what makes him so dangerous. DeSantis is like the Terminator 2 version of Trump. What the hell, Florida?
DeSantis broke multiple laws with that migrant running stunt in the summer. So, no, he’s not that different from Trump. It’s obvious to me that we’re just going to be trying to protect democracy for the rest of my life and beyond. We can’t make any progress if we’re always in defensive mode.
And DeSantis has the perfect little picture perfect family. The young pretty wife and the three adorable young children. And I hate to say this – but they make me think of John and Jackie Kennedy – the repug version.
We all know now that Jack and Jackie was mostly illusion and fantasy.
The DeSantises are intentionally courting those JFK and Jackie O comparisons to make them more palatable to the American public, when they are both bigoted reactionaries. And Casey DeSantis (real name is Jill) redid her whole face in her 20s so she could get a job on TV and become famous. When she was never able get out of the Jacksonville market and her gig on the Golf Channel failed, she focused her efforts on his political career so her fame would come through being a high-profile political spouse. She is attractive, yes, but she is a 40-something woman obsessed with extreme measures to keep her looking thin and wrinkle-free. Couple that with her bigotry and being a co-conspirator in her husband’s worst policies — she was the one who advised him on covid — she should never be allowed to become any sort of icon ala Jackie O.
He’s starting to amass reasons to leave Melania for the lawyer he’s been spending so much time with. I really doubt that she got involved in picking his contenders.
@smarmyo – honestly, after Melania, which woman (especially one with a profession) would want him?! Trump isn’t even that rich, is he?
Maybe his big announcement will be a divorce? LMFAO
Melania is so lazy that she makes Kate look like a hard worker.
No, that’s just a convenient excuse or pretext for whatever.
The button dress also recalls Kate
Comes down to: can he afford Melanias prenup. Please try & convince me that they haven’t be living apart for years.
Melania loves him because she is just as vile as he is.
I doubt they even speak to each other, let alone discuss politics. or that he would listen to her if they did.
Who’s the lawyer?
Guessing Alina Habba, who has been all over TV with her newly-super-whitened teeth!
Good. Let him announce and rile up DeSantis. Let them split their base’s allegiance and poison the well for everyone. Let them Bernie Sanders/Ralph Nader the 2024 election and hand the win to a Dem.
Exactly!!! Can’t wait for their attacks to really start.
I genuinely am willing this outcome into existence with every fibre of my being. Heck, let them split their base so much that someone not evil gets the R nom. But yes a dem continuation in 2024 if only because I am growing more worried for (most) people living in America every day.
Why is everyone referring to a vague “Dem” as if we don’t have an incumbent President? Do we really think that Biden won’t run? He shut those rumors down during yesterday’s press conference.
Will Biden be competent in 2 years time though?
He is displaying a lot of signs of confusion- the number of times he’s mixed people and places (Fallujah and Kherson just the other day)… I am genuinely concerned he is clinging on.
I really believe there should be a retirement age for politicians.
Biden is fine. He’s been confusing things since he first arrived in DC in his thirties. The last thing we need is another bloody Dem primary next year.
Biden will be 82 in two years, same age as my father, born on the exact same day too! People also forget, Trump will be 78 in two years times too. They both need to not run, but Desantis is scary. We Dems need another Obama.
This is what Biden alluded to in his press conference yesterday! It IS going to be fun to watch them rip the MAGA base apart!
Biden was not my first choice during the primaries but he has proven that he is more than competent. The Biden having dementia rumors are just propaganda from the same people who rallied behind Trump, the guy who proved himself to be the most incompetent. This kind of internal nitpicking is what causes Democrats to lose elections. We are never going to find a perfect leader. In my perfect world, we would have someone who is younger, diverse and more progressive, but it would be idiotic to drop an incumbent, during these precarious times, just to chase after some some shiny new candidate. For the moment, I’m happy to settle for someone who is smart, qualified, hard working, compassionate and actually capable of WINNING.
It’s pretty frustrating that there is more talk of Biden having cognitive problems than there was for Trump who actually did have cognitive problems and physical symptoms which were never explained. Remember him trying to walk down a not very steep ramp at the Naval Academy?
Exactly! I’m hoping Trump will be so butt-hurt and angry at his fellow Republicans for (presumably) supporting DeSantis over him, that he’ll leave the GOP and run for President as an Independent. Which would split the Republican vote and hand the win to the Dems. That’s my hope anyway!!
That would be fun to watch!
@K-Peace omg from your mouth to the universe’s ears! That would be glorious. He is too much of an egomaniac to pull out. He is taking everyone down with him.
I’m hoping for this too, that his hard core cult followers will be so mad they don’t vote if DeSantis gets the nomination, or they write in Trump.
I hope he runs so they can tear eachother to pieces.
I hope his fuming and screaming leads to a permanent case of laryngitis and we don’t have to hear his nonsense anymore. Wishful thinking.
I want this to work so badly.
I dunno, that’s exactly what I thought/hoped would happen in 2016. Trump would never win the nomination, but he’d siphon off votes from the craziest tea party contenders. Then he won the nomination, and I said great! He’ll push all the independent and swing votes and maybe even moderate Republican votes to Hillary. And none of that happened. 😢
@ Lionel
Yeah, it’s a dangerous strategy to hope Trump types clear the way for a Dem victory.
This WaPo story shows that this strategy was just deliberately used in this election cycle…but it could blow up in our faces horribly too.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/09/democrats-cynical-primary-strategy-worked/
Replying to Dawnchild: I was so peeved with this strategy. I do not want to have my money going to a freak with the hopes that my candidate profits from it and not the freak.
Yes. This might finally be the party schism we’ve been waiting for.
Preach!
This entire article makes me happy.
Isn’t he just tired by now? His life must just be crippling anxiety. I’m assuming all career politicians just don’t sleep well, but this guy has got to be exhausted. Like, I hope he gets the 2024 republican nomination because I don’t think he can win overall and I think DeSantis has a good shot, but if I were Trump, I would just find a graceful way to hang it up.
Trump and ” graceful” don’t belong in the same sentence.
The man is a total narcissist. He literally can’t grasp the idea that someone else could beat him fair and square, the only way he can process that would be if the voting was rigged.He won’t hang it up because he simply can’t cope with the idea of backing down, or becoming irrelevant.
I honestly don’t know how he’s still alive. He’s in poor health, has all kinds of major, pressing legal troubles, and is an angry stupid man.
No surprise about the big orange idiot’s reaction. However I am terrified about a DeSantis run. Much smarter than Trump (not that it takes much) and just as bigoted, unethical and immoral.
So it’s once again someone else’s fault for telling him to endorse certain people? Sure. But, if he’s so great, shouldn’t his endorsement have lifted up anyone he endorsed? I wonder if the R’s will have enough sense to dump him as a candidate. I bet he would try to run independent if they do.
LOSER
LOL, poor Trump baby.
I am also worried about a DeSantis run, but I think Trump is pretty invested at this point in running again – and I mean that literally. He uses the campaign as a way to get money from people, and he wants to be president again so he can hide from indictments.
What I would LOVE to see happen is DeSantis get the R nomination, and Trump going all egomaniac and running as a third party candidate and splitting the conservative vote.
A girl can dream, right?
My dream also. I think it’s a very likely thing.
Ego and financial reasons aside, I think Trump’s main reason for running is to avoid prosecution. He believed that the presidency made him untouchable and he desperately wants that back.
Completely agree!
I’m not American but I really hope that happens!
I’m thinking the same thing. I can see Trump being petty & spiteful enough to want to burn everything down, when he doesn’t receive the Republican Party’s support/nomination. I could even see him turning his back on his fellow members of the GOP to such a degree that he might even come to hate them more than he hates the Dems. And as a result run as an Independent, and tell a lot of the GOP’s big, nasty, damaging secrets. That’s what i hope anyway!
Maybe, just maybe, when he woke up this morning and looked in the mirror he saw his awfulness instead of the Rambo image of himself that he usually sees. Nevermind, he would never question himself.
Dream scenario is Trump is so worried about going to prison that he goes full Bull Moose and sinks himself and DeSantis.
Trump has the stenchs of the Jan. 6 insurrection, the Mar-a-lago search, and multiple criminal and civil investigations on him that made him radioactive to GOP candidates that fully embraced him. There are reports Rupert Murdoch is going to throw his weight behind DeSantis. Trump will throw a tantrum and a spanner on the GOP and announce his candidacy. The Dems may want to sit back and watch the carnage but they need to be focused to keep the White House in 2024.
There are financial and legal reasons for him to declare as well. Our campaign finance laws are so terrible that candidates can raise money and spend it on basically anything. Part of the reason for these terrible celebrity Republicans running is that they can raise money for their “campaigns” and then keep it afterwards. It’s probably why we got President T. He saw a serious grift opportunity and ended up with a job he actually didn’t want.
DeSantis is more dangerous, because he wants the job, and wants it to be able to turn the US into a White Christian Nation.
I agree Despicable wants the job….badly, but, I don’t think he’s a white Christian nation type guy. He’s too “in” with the Cuban community. To his mind, Cubans are the only acceptable immigrants.
The White supremacists don’t care though, because his agenda will hurt all the people they want hurt.
Of course he blames others. So typical to not be able to take accountability for oneself. And it’s not only him – this is seen in so many people now.
DeSantis scares me because he’s smarter than trump. That’s not a good thing.
I think Democrats need to start preparing to play rough in 2024. Nothing illegal — we’re not Republicans, FFS — but we’re not going to beat DeSantis with civility and rationality.
He’s definitely running, too many suckers out there that he can part from their money. Come on NY AG! Even if its not criminal (yet) anything that knocks back Trump is welcome.
I think he believes that running is his only way out of (does the Maria Von Trapp mountain-top spin) all of the trouble he’s in. He has it in his mind that if he’s a candidate they can’t touch him for some reason. Like this is all some playground game. And if he’s able to get enough dangerous idiots to do juuuuust the right amount of violence he’ll be made King and will stay King for the rest of his life. And then all of the crimes he commits won’t even BE crimes because the king makes the rules.
Honestly, what would it even be like to have that much confidence and optimism for even five minutes?
Plus the money and adoration he can extract from his followers.
I don’t think it’s optimism, so much as narcissism, greed, and mental deficiency.
He’ll announce purely to fund raise to pay for his multiple law suits and to show how bigly strong he is – that he’s coming back to ‘save’ GOP and America.
I also agree with others – if he runs off against De Santis he will lose, again! And if he loses, again, he will burn the whole party down.
As annoying as Joe Scarborough can be, when he goes off making fun of what an utter LOSER and abject failure Trump is and how everything he touches dies, it’s brilliantly funny. Also, Maggie Haberman and the NYT are a fucking disgrace and are significantly to blame for inflicting Trump upon the world.
He can and probably will run but if the GOP and right wing media have decided to dump him I think he will have a difficult time. He won’t get the 24/7 air play and the constant adulation he needs and craves. That will go to DeSantis. I’m just curious whether his cult stick with him or do they switch the 6 Trump flags on their trucks to DeSantis 2024 flags?
I’m from small town, rural America. They are keeping the Trump crap.
I am worried about DeSantis also. There is a great progressive youtuber named Farron Cousins. He lives in Florida. He thinks that DeSantis doesn’t have what it takes for the national stage. I hope he is correct.
This is a good point. DeSantis has been successful because of the unique nature of Florida politics and because his team has insulated him so well. But anyone who saw him debate Charlie Crist this year and Andrew Gillum in 2018 knows he cracks easily. His wife has protected him and uses her own image of delicate, white conservative femininity to soften him, making him look like a family man. But all that could crack under the national spotlight. DeSantis is going in with a lot of tangibles in his favor — lots of $ and the support of the right wing media ecosystem. But he could go bust the way Scott Walker and Chris Christie did. And while Trump is fading in relevance and power, don’t think he won’t try to exploit DeSantis’ weaknesses on his way down.
Frankly, Trump HAS to run for president. It’s his ONLY way to avoid criminal prosecution because it really does seem no one wants to be the one to open the we are going to prosecute presidential candidates while they are running because the precedent is that every.single.democratic.presidential candidate will be prosecuted by a GOP state AG or republican DOJ the second the opportunity presents itself.
Trump knows this. He also knows that during the two year lag time, his cases have all moved forward and the ONLY way to slow them down is to run for president and turn the criminal cases into political witch hunts.
And let’s be honest, the whole entire reason the election went the GOP’s direction in any way is because white women went full on Serena Joy and lined up behind white men. That is so disturbing but really. 80 percent of white women in Georgia? Support white supremacy more than their own damn reproductive rights. Racism is a HELL OF A DRUG. Make it make sense otherwise.
So sad for the orange sh!t gibbon. lol.
I honestly think that’s the fake “Melanie” in the black outfit w/ gloves and buttons and sunglasses. Remember, when the real Melanie had “kidney” surgery (those kidneys sure are high up on her *chest* though) and shortly after she “recovered” there was a Melanie that didn’t look like her? (The combover Caligula called her Melanie on accident around that time and I’ve never been able to think of her as anyone else now).
DeSantis is a nightmare. I don’t believe he is actually smart though. He’s just evil. And racist. So the GQP will be quite happy with him.
💯 it’s the fake wife in the photo near the airplane. The body double is cheery, constantly holds his hand and is willing to kiss him on rally stages. The jaw and head are a bit different. The dude always is big on stagecraft.
I totally had the same reaction; that is NOT Melania.
The tide is turning in favor of DeSantis, but is it turning fast enough? There’s still a lot of Trump supporters in middle America & Trump is still taking their money. I too think Trump is going to burn it all down & hopefully wreck the GOP’s chances next election.
This is the key. Trump is siphoning off money from the Republican base that would otherwise go to fund the national party efforts. Trump folks are cultishly loyal to him, not the GOP. DeSantis can’t pull that loyalty, nor does he have the weird charisma Trump wields over some people. The party will be divided into a Trump/Q populist faction & a media-supported, ostensibly more “respectable conservative” DeSantis faction.
The closest modern example of what I think will happen might be the “Dixiecrat” schism that paved the way for the current Republican party.
Dear Donald,
I know we’ve had our disagreements in the past, what with me being an average, sane citizen of the United States and you being a thin-skinned, narcissistic stale Cheeto BUT HEAR ME OUT!
You were the biggest, most bestest President we’ve ever had. Nobody did presidenting better, ask anyone!
The GOP, they’re being nasty to you Donald. They’re forgetting who put them in the map (that was YOU Big Guy!)! You were the greatest thing to ever happen to them, believe me. Now the Goofy GOP wants to replace you with Runny Ron DeCANTis. You’re not going to let them do that to you, are you? The KING of New York real estate?!
You NEED to run again Donald. You need to show the Goofy GOP who the Boss IS. Remember during the Republican Primaries when you made fun of Marco Rubio’s sweat? Well, the country needs you to do that again, only this time it needs to be aimed at Runny Ron DeCANTis.
But first, maybe invite everyone to Mar-a-lago for a little show and tell. You know, the kompromat that Big Daddy Vlad gave you on them (he sends his admiration and live by the way. Yes, he got the flowers.). Then maybe they’ll remember why they supported you in the first place.
You’ve got to do it, Donald. You’ve got to run again. You’ve got to show them who’s BOSS. If you don’t, they’re all going to laugh at you. THEY’RE ALL GOING TO LAUGH AT YOU!
What was it you said at Liberty University during your campaign? Don’t let people push you around, GET EVEN! It’s what Jesus would have wanted you to do!
And when you’re re-elected, they will all fall to their knees in apology and praise. McConnell, McCarthy, even Biden and Obama. Hillary will have been locked up at that point. She’s a nasty woman!
So go get ’em Big Guy!
Sincerely,
Someone who does not want the GOP to win
LOLLLLLLL @Sean I needed that!!!
From a Panhandle Floridian of 40 years, Desantis is all those things and downright CRUEL, MEAN SPIRITED.
DeSantis is dangerous because he understands the levers of government and the loopholes he can exploit to gain power, whereas Trump just blew off playing by the rules. DeSantis also has the money and backing of right wing media and donor class, so no doubt he is in a good position. But while the prospect of him gaining the presidency is scary, he is still incredibly egotistical and petulant, similar to Trump, that could hurt him to his detriment. Ever seen him debate or meltdown when being asked a tough question? He may have won in 2018 and this year, but his Democratic opponents bested him in both debates. And there is a reason his team has shut out mainstream media from coming to his events or interacting with him in any way possible. He can’t handle being asked tough questions. At all.
He also apparently is known to get testy with wealthy donors and is so anti-social at fundraisers that his Serena Joy wife has to has to manage all the relationships for him. He is also known to be such a bully as a boss, Politico reported there is a support group for ex-staffers. Again, his wife (notice a trend here), likes to play good cop to soothe shaken staffers, but ultimately enables him and treats him as without fault. Everyone, from staffers to the FL state legislature to lobbyists, has kowtowed to his bullying. He is a straight up anti-social sociopath without charisma. While no cares about staff being bullied sadly, being anti-social and quick to anger is going to be noticeable on a national level with all the campaigning he has to do.
Unlike Trump, he doesn’t throw tantrums on social media because his team manages it for him, but he has that shady ass spokeswoman Christina Pushaw, who is a disgusting troll and has shady connections to Russia, doing the heavy lifting for him. She has been investigated before by DOJ and her shady ass is a black mark against him.
And speaking of his wife—a deranged extremist herself but hides it behind white woman conservative femininity—he has cheated on her numerous times. She tolerates it because she wants to be FLOTUS so badly and because she has pushed him his entire political career to get him where he is. However, while cheating scandals don’t stick anymore, she crafted a great family man image for him that would still suffer some setbacks if these scandals go more attention.
And Trump knows all these things. While he is losing relevancy and power, he is not afraid to exploit DeSantis flaws. And if they make it to the debate stage, DeSantis is going to come off as weaker. So don’t think either have this in the bag yet. In the next year, we shall see how this plays out.
Thanks for the detailed info @Duo. Right now Murdoch is upset with Trump and he might throw his conservative media empire behind DeSantis as the most likely Rep candidate after Trump… but if what you say is accurate it’s going to be interesting how they disguise that so DeSantis can win. And, yeah, Trump is not going to let that happen when the presidency is so important to stopping all sorts of lawsuits against him.
I worry about DeSantis. He’s younger and more with it than Trump is. I fear he’d be able to do even more damage as president than Trump.
I definitely worry about young, vibrant, good looking DeSantis, up against what will be an 82 year old, increasingly befuddled Biden, who looks and acts every bit of his 82 years.
Im not saying that Biden isn’t or won’t be perfectly competent in two years, but let’s be real, politicians are often elected on their physical appeal just as much as their policies. The commentor who said DeSantis reminds her of JFK is absolutely right. The only way to beat DeSantis is to find someone just as young and vibrant. Biden ain’t it.
Ron DeSantis has not been good looking since he got married 10+ years ago and resembles a fat, bloated pig and much older than his 44 years, lol. And he isn’t vibrant either, he is awkward and a charisma vacuum. That said, his relative youth, his cute family, his growing popularity in Florida, his war chest, and his backing by Murdoch all really help him. But as someone noted above, he is angry, petty, vindictive and isn’t people-oriented. Yes, Biden’s age and declining stamina will get called into question, but DeSantis’ brittle personality and inability to handle tough situations could fold him under a national spotlight.
@COPYPESTO- You may not perceive deSantis as vibrant or good looking, but plenty of people do. I’m guessing deSantis’ asinine policies have zapped him of all appeal to you, but remember the midterms have show us that America is VERY evenly divided between red & blue. And there are PLENTY of people who are ALL for DeSantis’ fucked up-ed-ness. And they see him as the second coming. And it’s not solely deSantis that many people find appealing in that way, it’s his whole sparkly, perfect little family. The pretty wife, the cute kids. He VERY much has the same appeal that JFK had in ’60. Plus he’s new blood, he doesn’t have the baggage that a lot of older, more experienced politicians have, and he’s VERY aggressive regarding his policies. You can underestimate him and his appeal all you want, I personally think he is one of the most dangerous Republicans in politics at the moment. And I firmly believe that 80 year old, perpetually befuddled Biden will not stand a chance against DeSantis, and this is hardly something I’m happy about. The Democrats need another Obama. Pure and simple.
And to be clear, I personally do not find deSantis at all attractive, as well as JFK and Bill Clinton. Both hailed as young attractive presidents, I never saw the appeal. But I guess compared to the Mitch McConnells Lindsay Grahams, and tRumps, they’re gods!
My doom and gloom brain is telling me Trump and DeSantis will share the ticket in 2024, and I honestly don’t think Dems can beat them.
Neither would agree to play second fiddle.
Neither one would every allow the other within twenty feet of either position.
My comment above should be @Korra, NOT @Copypesto!! I agree with you! My bad!!!!😬😬😬😬
As his recent campaign ad states, on the eighth day God created DeSantis to save us.
Pardon me while I get vilely sick over here in the corner.
Best tweet about this from @covid_93 (who is worth a follow):
“trump should’ve endorsed desantis if he really wanted him gone.”
CopyPesto, But who would be second on the ticket? DeSantis would want to be top dog. So would Trump. Neither would want to be second dog. The VP role has traditionally gotten people nothing, unless they’re lucky enough to run for President after and actually make it. It’s a thankless role. And those two egos? They’d be fighting for supremacy (irony) and would maybe even put out a hit on one another. On second thought, . . . .
So very fed up with all things Trump!
He and most of his criminal family should have been in jail at least a year ago.
Ignore him, the press is like oxygen to him.
“Like every other Trump catastrophe, he did this to himself with stupid and reckless decisions.”
says a Republican operative still working in his orbit.
It makes me sick how they all know he’s a stupid monster, and put up with it to further their agenda.
I imagine his scream sounds more like a shriek. I’d love to hear it.
The nauseating Trump era is over. The problem is, DeSantis is Trump in a more tolerable package. Can’t see them working together, but as a native New Yorker, I was well aware of the dumpster fire that Donald Trump has always been, and I never, ever thought he would even win the Republican primaries (much less the presidency). So what do I know?
Didn’t read all the comments, but just read Trump blamed Melania for his endorsement of Oz. I love it! Not only wasn’t it His fault, it was Melania’s. This really give me joy.
I can’t stand De Santis, and while I realize he is much smarter than Trump, I think he might not be as dangerous. Why? Trump has what Hitler had (although Hitler was smarter) and that is the “cult of personality.” Certain people get swept up by his “charm, charisma, etc.” and literally would die for him. De Santis does not have that “cultish” magnetism. When Trump said he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and his followers wouldn’t care, he was right. Could De Santis say the same? Doubt it. I am hoping Trump gets so mad at the Republicans for not continuing to blindly follow him that he runs as an Independent. I could see him doing that, saying he knows he won’t win but he has to do it to make a point and hopefully steer the country in the right direction. (Of course, his goals would be far from altruistic — it would be to stay in the news, get back at Republicans and grift his followers.) Maybe this is wishful thinking on my part…. When even that POS Kayleigh McEnany (sp?) is telling Trump not to run and not to go near Georgia, you know the rats are starting to jump ship.
I read Trump raised 100 million dollars “for” the mid-term and donated none of it to the candidates he endorsed. Hell, he probably charged “his” candidates for his endorsement. Gotta love a good scam, I guess. And if “his” party deserts him, you KNOW he’s the petty vengeful bitch who will try to burn it all down. And I love that for the Rethuglican party. They so richly deserve it. Let him start his own independent MAGGOT party to divide the Republican party. The crazies will all go to him. And again, yes.
Another comment people made after the WSJ article was for him to “gracefully” bow out and not make his November 15 announcement, delay it or change the announcement that he WON’T run for president again so he could be a “statesman.” Delusional, right? There is nothing graceful or statesman-like about him. To the extreme, not. He’s already made up a nickname for DeSantis (DeSanctimonious– which I don’t believe Trump knows the meaning of). He’s already said that he has dirt on De Santis that he could release because he knows more than anyone else about De Santis except his wife (I love that Trump “knows” as much as DeSantis’ wife about him–it’s rather titillating what that might include). In other words, Trump will forever be the douche-bag and Mafioso wannabe that got him elected. He IS a one-trick pony and they are STUCK WITH HIM. They called him an albatross and that he is, around YOUR necks, Rethugs. Deal with it.
According to journalist David Freelander, the dirt Trump has on DeSantis involves Ron cheating on his wife Casey with a porn star while she was pregnant with their 3rd child. Here is the link: https://twitter.com/freedlander/status/1590105928405114880?s=20&t=lb6jHLceHqi7NP_z08vEcw.
Trump is capable of projecting his demons onto DeSantis, but rumors of DeSantis cheating with interns, right wing bloggers, and even his own press secretary have been swirling for years in Tallahassee circles.
I can only hope that Dump runs as an independent and ruins his own chances as well as that of whatever POS the Republicants decide to run. Dump is so narcissistic, I wouldn’t put it past him.
Voting blue is the ONLY same choice.
DeSantis/Haley ‘24
I think it’s pretty much a done deal.