Guest Post by Ann Coulter
Donald Trump is indignant that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would dare run for president when he KNOWS Trump is running. According to the former president and big baby, this is a betrayal of epic proportions because Trump endorsed DeSantis during his first gubernatorial run. (Whereas winning the presidency by promising to build a wall, and then reneging, is a trifle, hardly worth mentioning.)
DeSantis, he says, would be “working at a Pizza Hut” if not for Trump’s endorsement. [Counter-argument: DeSantis is a graduate of both Harvard and Yale, and didn’t pay someone to take his SATs for him, as Trump did.]
But since Trump won’t shut up about his splendiferous endorsement of DeSantis, let’s see how valuable it really was.
Answer: It was utterly irrelevant.
Trump endorsed DeSantis on Dec. 22, 2017, shortly before he officially announced his candidacy, tweeting, “Congressman Ron DeSantis is a brilliant young leader, Yale and then Harvard Law, who would make a GREAT Governor of Florida. He loves our Country and is a true FIGHTER!”
The response was Earth-shattering!!! Actually, it had absolutely no effect. Not the slightest little bump in the polls. Weeks later — thanks to Trump’s back-breaking work typing out a tweet — DeSantis’ primary opponent, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam, led DeSantis 23% to 18%, according to a Florida Chamber of Commerce poll.
Although DeSantis wasn’t shy about touting Trump’s endorsement, by early June 2018, Putnam had a double-digit lead over him. A Fox News poll, for example, showed Putnam ahead 32% to 17%, and an NBC poll had Putnam leading DeSantis 38% to 21%. Not only that, but Putnam had outraised DeSantis $30 million to $10.8 million.
That’s the old Trump magic!
It wasn’t until the first primary debate at the end of June 2018 that DeSantis soared in the polls and never went back down. As Floridapolitics.com reported, numerous surveys showed “a dramatic leap to the top for DeSantis since the two [primary candidates] squared off in the nationally televised debate in Orlando on June 28.”
It’s not that DeSantis is an amazing debater — he’s not — but two months before the election, voters started paying attention.
By the time of the second and final debate on Aug. 8, 2018, DeSantis was leading Putnam by 20 points, and went on to win the primary 57% to 37%. Trump had nothing to do with it: DeSantis was underwater from Trump’s December 2017 endorsement right up until the voters got a look at DeSantis for themselves.
True, Trump reminded voters of his DeSantis endorsement just before that first debate, and there were no polls between Trump’s re-endorsement and the debate a week later, so maybe the second time’s the charm!
Were Florida voters especially enamored of Trump in June 2018? Hardly. A Marist/NBC poll, taken between June 17 and June 22, had Trump down 20 points on the “deserves to be reelected” question.
Indeed, Trump’s endorsements only seem to “work” by random chance — or when his aides tell him who’s going to win, and then, at the last minute, he endorses that guy. (See J.D. Vance.)
Remember Alabama? Even in the Trumpiest of Trump states, his endorsed candidates in 2017 lost in both the primary and the general election. This was during Trump’s first year as president, when he was at the height of his powers — before we knew he was going to betray us. (Some of us had an inkling.) Trump’s endorsements did the impossible, producing a Democratic senator from a deep red state.
His endorsement of Herschel Walker in 2022 cost Republicans a Senate seat in Georgia. His endorsement of Doug Mastriano (for claiming the 2020 election was stolen) cost Republicans the entire state of Pennsylvania. Also: Kari Lake in Arizona, Tudor Dixon in Michigan, Don Bolduc in New Hampshire and so on.
How about the race that obsessed Trump more than any other? Far more than a couple of tweets, Trump waged a jihad against Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022, practically turning himself into David Perdue’s campaign manager.
He even used half a million dollars from his PAC to defeat Kemp — marking the first time Trump spent his donors’ money on something other than his own properties and family members.
Result: Kemp slaughtered Perdue in the primary, 74% to 22%, and then increased his margin of victory in the general election from four years earlier.
And never forget that in the weeks before DeSantis’ reelection in 2022, Trump repeatedly attacked him at rallies, calling him the oh-so-witty “Ron DeSanctimonious.” The day before the election, Trump hinted at an imaginary DeSantis scandal, telling The Wall Street Journal, “I will tell you things about him that won’t be very flattering. I know more about him than anybody other than perhaps his wife, who is really running his campaign.”
As we all now know, DeSantis went on to win reelection by 20 points, the largest margin in 40 years, in an otherwise rotten year for Republicans (thanks to Trump).
Moral of the story: A Trump endorsement is electoral poison.
Aside from the insanely narcissistic rank stupidity of Trump thinking he has the right to demand that no other Republican run against him, DeSantis owes him absolutely nothing. Next year, when the “justice-involved” former president is angling for a presidential pardon and decides to endorse DeSantis, the governor should refuse it. That will bring the country together.
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Desantis is boring. No amount of pundit articles are going to make the man interesting. He’s the Jeb of this election primary.
Way beneath you to burp out such a vacuous assertion, which btw, I don’t even believe.
Alright, I’m open to changing my mind. Post one video of Desantis that makes you laugh. I dare you.
I wouldn’t even try. I don’t care one wit about the entertainment, which btw is always at our now existential expense. I know…ya gotta laugh at the reality or it’ll drive ya crazy.
Again…VACUOUS! Stupid bitches looking to be “entertained” and “titillated” instead of considering track records and policy goals. And they wonder WHY their country is in the fucking toilet.
Jesus wept!
Elections are literally popularity contests. Moron.
Go make me a sammich, bitch.
“vacuous”
You MUST have been a carpenter at some point…’cause you NAILED IT!
She’s a fan of Mr. Victim Hood.
Brings us back to the OP, Ann Coulter. Shreiking woman, shut up!
DeSantis deserves to work at Pizza Hut, but likely it will have to be somewhere outside of Florida.
He certainly sold out Floridians by running for re-election as Governor and saying he wasn’t running for President the whole time, and shortly after winning re-election as Governor, he embarked on a country-wide ‘book tour’ which was assuredly a presidential campaign by another name, and was not around to attend to any of Florida’s currently pending issues.
If this guy would sell out the state that brought him into power, why should anyone think he’s anything more than the usual political animal who will sell out his constituents in a heartbeat for money, power and fame, just like far too many politicians who came before him.
Everyone should investigate the outrageous sell out by DeSantis regarding Florida Power & Light. Floridians are going to be absolutely hosed by all the green unworkable BS he is allowing at the cost of losing base power generation. His big money guys don’t seem to sync with the image he tries to project.
Maybe look into that old woman Trump wanted to run out of her house for a damned parking lot, capitalism , yes, while at it. Priceless!
Seems a guy named Mr. Victim Hood sold the whole damned country out on the jab. Eh?
Hey, Bush 43 sold out the state of Texas! /s
Bitter man-hating uterus.
Hear hear , its not about Meatball Ron , its about Ann’s hysterical nature .She be a media ho , nothing more .
The big donors have either fled to DeSantis’ campaign or are sitting on the fence. Who’s gonna pay those legal fees for Trump and Company running into the millions? Who? All those ardent fans who haven’t and won’t cough up a single nickle?
The big money has left DeSantis and is hoping to snare Glen Youngkin.
I read about one (Forgot name) “personally” asking him to run.
Does not matter. You are talking Mr. Victim Hood. Maybe Trump will start a go fund me deal. lol
Actually Jared Kushner hinted , “No problem. I got you covered dad.”
Also just like the national debt talk Mr. Victim Hood pays everything back at 50 cents on the dollar or less. no sweat!
Maybe they’ll let Trump run a podcast from prison. That’ll be muey entertaining. And he is going to prison or wearing an ankle monitor at Mar-a-Lago for life. I believe them and take them at their word. They aren’t playing like the GOPee.
show me where I’ve misanalysed the situation.
—No matter how cynical you get, you’re still being naive.
That would be a gas. Maybe a renewal of the apprentice series but this time we fire the prison guards and wardens all over the country.
Poor Trump. Always the victim.
Fuck you Ann Coulter.
The wall didn’t get fully built because of visious un-American people just like you were in .gov fighting him 24/7.
Tell me Ann, if you were DJT with all the daggers aiming at you, how you could have outperformed what he did manage to accomplish.
Don’t cross the street while I’m driving down the road.
Bitch.
that wall wasn’t built because the GOPee leadership shit in his mouth after Trump publicly endorsed and defended both Ryan and McConnell between 2015 and 2018.
Desantis won because Trump had Susie Wiles work on his campaign. Even at that he barely beat a homosexual negro drug addict not named Obama. After he was elected she went to work for Trump again and Desantis got her removed. There is bad blood between Desantis and Wiles and it will cost Desantis any chance at beating Orange Jesus since she is working for him again.
Susie Wiles
Trump has no plan for dealing with his imminent destruction. His acolyte and mainstream cheerleaders aren’t telling us the realty of his situation. Bad for biz.
At some point even Trump has to show his hand. Then everyone will see what’s what.
“Hey! Loving man. You’ve been called!” – Ike Clanton, Tombstone
The Trump card? The Trump victimization card?
TDC Games Trump Cards Party Game- Did he Really Say It, or is It Fake News?
?v=1683769161
May be able to get these on Amazon , the purchase contributing to the site. I ordered small potatoes couple days ago to help out.
DeSantis’ betrayal got him nothing.
He’s STILL Governor, ain’t he? All you idiots should really stop drunk posting at midnight.
No kidding especially loading on on Don Jr’s Bud Light.
I’m watching this next presidential election with bemusement. I can’t imagine giving the smallest of shits about which person gets to live in the White House and pretend to run things. I didn’t vote for Trump in 2020, but I probably would in 2024, especially if he’s in prison. “Always vote for the guy in prison” I always say.
Bro, you must be so bored! I think I’d rather watch paint dry.
I’m thinking poll places will be dangerous so if I decide to “vote” , which may not even be a 50/50 chance, I’m mailing my ballot in. Looking now to see how to “order” it.
I’m telling ya, in this neck of the woods with everyone packing including me saying tRump to a TrumpToad could result in a gunfight and I’m damned sure not interested in shooting people because they are so damned duped by Mr. Victim Hood and take such childish offense to any joking.
What I really want to know is WTF is up with these ads that have people covered in ticks? It’s gross, but I can’t stop watching.
Oh, BTW, cow deer ewe insult our Lord and Savior Donald J. Trump! He is going to rapture us up before the tribulation 😉
Well, he was the Chosen One according to him anyway and probably still thinks like that.
Nice ………Ann is on her period again.
Apparently you are. Most folks don’t resort to ad hom when confronted with the truth.
You seem to make a habit of it.
Ann is a pro big government establishment hack. She sells illusions to dumb people.
She bats about 500. That would qualify her for the hall of fame in MLB.
I could care less about endorsements, personality, popularity or any thing other than policy. I vote on policy. The one thing all he Republican candidates not Trump have in common are they are either Trump 2.0 or Trump lite. Until someone actually stands out, Trump will be the leader.
It has been statistically proven that women will always vote for the candidate they’d most like to fuck.
WE SEEING THE PROBLEM YET?
Trumpty Dumpty and Meatball Ron are both a couple of New World Order whores playing their parts. These elections are fake and it’s anazing that so many people still can’t see that.
The dumb masses will turn up to the polls believing that if they vote even harder, then their guy will win and the country will be saved. Poor dumb bastards.
“The dumb masses will turn up to the polls believing that if they vote even harder, then their guy will win and the country will be saved. Poor dumb bastards.”
If I had a dog that stupid I’d be forced to put it down as an act of mercy.
It’s just entertainment like playing Trump Cards. Plus peeps can get all irate and shit similar to throwing rotten eggs at the baseball umpire in disagreement with the “call”.
Your first paragraph is probably as close to “truth” as anything else politics as victimhood, or victimhood as politics
tbp is censoring comments
Nah, it wasnt working. Now it is.
How can this event continually to post daily on different subjects across many platforms.
Do not give it air
I mean AC