Death follows DeSantis. Before he kicked off his Iowa campaign Tuesday with an ugly, vicious speech at the Eternity Church in Clive— made even more hideous delivered in his grating and nauseating nasal tone— a building in Davenport collapsed, killing several people. That’s what Make America Florida is: collapsing buildings— the owner had been fined for not keeping it safe— and death. DeSantis isn’t called Death Santis in Florida for any other reason. The death he brought with him to Iowa was the first stop in a 3 state tour— New Hampshire and South Carolina theater two— to kick off his ill-fated presidential campaign, denouncing elites while “pitching himself as an unrepentant fighter who could reverse a tide of progressivism in boardrooms, the government and the military” [and in libraries and people’s bedrooms]. Shane Goldmacher and Nicholas Nehamas reported that in his “strident speech, he painted a dark picture of America, saying he would be a salve to a ‘malignant ideology’ that was taking hold across the nation. He described children facing ‘indoctrination.’ He mocked transgender athletes, denounced the ‘woke Olympics’ of diversity programs and reveled in his battle with Disney. ‘It is time we impose our will on Washington, D.C.,’ DeSantis said. ‘And you can’t do any of this if you don’t win.’” He starting his campaign as one of the most divisive ideologues to ever run for president of the U.S.
DeSantis did not mention Trump by name in his speech. But he left little doubt about some of the areas in which he planned to draw contrasts with the former president in the coming months, including how each leader handled the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic more than three years ago and his ability to win in 2024.
Later, in a news conference, he sharpened the contrast.
“The former president is now attacking me saying that Cuomo did better handling Covid than Florida did,” DeSantis said, referring to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, a Democrat. “I can tell you this. I could count the number of Republicans in this country on my hands that would rather have lived in New York under Cuomo than lived in Florida in our freedom zone.”
“Hell, his whole family moved to Florida under my governorship, are you kidding me?” DeSantis added later of Trump.
…Before the event, DeSantis and his wife, [Mafia princess] Casey DeSantis, had met privately with about 15 local pastors for a private prayer over his family and candidacy, according to a campaign aide.
…He spoke about signing a six-week abortion ban, pressing for the death penalty for those convicted of sexually abusing children, and “even sending illegal aliens to Martha’s Vineyard.” DeSantis injected more bits of his biography into his emerging stump speech than he did during his pre-candidacy. He invoked his mother’s work as a nurse, his father’s installation of Nielsen ratings boxes and his own minimum-wage jobs. “I was given nothing,” DeSantis said.
His cadence at times felt rushed. He pushed so quickly through his speech that sections were swallowed by the crowd’s applause, which did not slow him down.
…DeSantis has positioned himself to the right of Trump on some key issues, including abortion, as part of an effort to woo right-wing voters. In his news conference, he accused Trump of shifting to the left.
…DeSantis has sought to differentiate himself from Trump on social issues, pointing to their stances on abortion and the governor’s clash with Disney, among other issues, as proof that he is the more conservative candidate in the race and that Trump has moved to the center.
“I will be able to destroy leftism in this country,” DeSantis said on Fox News on Monday.
It is part of a DeSantis pitch that, more broadly, centers on fulfilling the promises where Trump fell short, including winning the White House for a second term by appealing to Republicans and independents who say they can no longer support the former president.
“There are a lot of voters that just aren’t going to ever vote for him,” DeSantis told reporters on Tuesday. “We just have to accept that.”
He also whined that had he been president, he would have fired Anthony Fauci. It’s worth noting that under DeSantis, once the vaccines were available, Florida had one of the worst death rates from COVID in the country, and far worse than New York or California. In an implicit attack on Trump, he intoned, “Leadership is not about entertainment. It’s not about building a brand. It’s not about virtue signaling,” DeSantis said. “It is about results… I’ve been listening to these politicians talk about securing the border for years and years and years. I can tell you, if I’m president, this will finally be the time where we bring this issue to a conclusion.” Polling shows that there are a lot more who are never going to vote for DeSantis. In fact, as more voters get to know hum, his polling numbers consistently fall. As he was speaking, East Carolina University released a poll of West Virginia Republican voters. The news was horrible for Meatball Ron who was back in single digits!
Trump- 54%
DeSantis- 9%
Pence- 5%
Tim Scott- 4%
Nikki Haley- 3%
Ramaswarmy- 2%
Așa Hutchinson- 2%
Last week, Mark Penn’s right-leaning national Harris Poll was also bad news for DeSantis:
Trump- 58%
DeSantis- 16% (down 4 points from last month)
Ramaswarmy- 4%
Pence- 4%
Nikki Haley- 4%
Ted Cruz- 3%
Așa Hutchinson- 1%
Tim Scott- 1%
Marco Rubio- 1%
And even all the other candidates drop out, Trump would still crush DeSantis:
The battle between the Trump and Meatball camps is getting ruthless, more personal and more vicious. Last night Zach Basu reported that Trump doesn't just want to defeat; he wants to utterly destroy his (political) career “and that of anyone who has expressed even a hint of support for his candidacy. For Trump, loyalty is paramount— and a one-way street. The fact that so many former Trump administration officials and supporters have defected to team DeSantis has made the feud intensely personal for the ex-president.” Lately Trump has been savaging Kayleigh McEnany, Jenna Ellis and Christina Pushaw.
The other two candidates about to jump into the race— Mike Pence and Chris Christie— would both be handily defeated by DeSantis is Trump dies or can’t run from a prison cell. But both are fundraising and getting ready to announce. Pence, who is really hated by the MAGA wing of the GOP, will announce early this month, probably on a CNN June 7th Des Moines town hall, his 64th birthday. Pence’s strategy is to basically live in Iowa and work the evangelic caucus goers. Pence never gets into double digits and even if Trump were to die, DeSantis would beat him.
Even worse off than Pence is Chris Christie, also detested by the MAGAts. Apparently he’s not running to win, just to make sure Trump doesn’t. But he’s got a SuperPAC vacuuming up corrupt conservative cash and he’s probably announcing next week as well, probably on Tuesday in New Hampshire. He’s already calling Trump a “puppet of Putin” and a “coward.” He has also said he wouldn’t support Trump even if Trump wins the primary. My guess is that he's working for DeSantis to smear-- tell the truth about-- Trump in return for a big job in a potential Meatball cabinet.
