Former President Trump unloaded on newly re-elected Gov. Ron DeSantis in a rambling statement issued Thursday evening on his “45th President of the United States of America” letterhead.
DeSantis soundly defeated Democratic rival Charlie Crist in Tuesday’s gubernatorial contest. DeSantis celebrated with supporters, who were chanting, “Two more years,” in an obvious reference to DeSantis’ White House ambitions.
Trump’s statement reads as follows:
“Ron came to me in desperate shape in 2017—he was politically dead, losing in a landslide to a very good Agriculture Commissioner, Adam Putnam, who was loaded up with cash and great poll numbers. Ron had low approval, bad polls, and no money, but he said that if I would Endorse him, he could win. I didn’t know Adam so I said, “Let’s give it a shot, Ron.” When I Endorsed him, it was as though, to use a bad term, a nuclear weapon went off. Years later, they were the exact words that Adam Putnam used in describing Ron’s Endorsement. He said, “I went from having it made, with no competition, to immediately getting absolutely clobbered after your Endorsement.” I then got Ron by the “Star” of the Democrat Party, Andrew Gillum (who was later revealed to be a “Crack Head”), by having two massive Rallies with tens of thousands of people at each one. I also fixed his campaign, which had completely fallen apart. I was all in for Ron, and he beat Gillum, but after the Race, when votes were being stolen by the corrupt Election process in Broward County, and Ron was going down ten thousand votes a day, along with now-Senator Rick Scott, I sent in the FBI and the U.S. Attorneys, and the ballot theft immediately ended, just prior to them running out of the votes necessary to win. I stopped his Election from being stolen…”
Trump’s recollection of the timeline, may not reconcile with those who have been keen observers of DeSantis, who began cultivating a base of support here in The Villages in a 2015 appearance at Savannah Center with Republican Congressman Trey Gowdy, who chaired the U.S. House Select Committee on Benghazi. That event was hosted by the now-defunct The Villages Tea Party.
When Mike Pence signed on as Trump’s running mate, DeSantis honed in for a spot on the stage with Pence in a 2016 event at Savannah Center.
And when Congressman DeSantis launched his upstart GOP gubernatorial campaign against establishment-backed Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, DeSantis turned to his large and growing base of supporters in The Villages – even though at that time the Developer was backing Putnam.
DeSantis soared to a double-digit lead over Putnam.
DeSantis helped warm up the audience at the The Villages Polo Fields in October 2020 when President Trump roared in aboard Marine One as he campaigned for re-election.
The bromance is apparently over and it’s clear that Trump has taken off the gloves.
“And now, Ron DeSanctimonious is playing games! The Fake News asks him if he’s going to run if President Trump runs, and he says, ‘I’m only focused on the Governor’s race, I’m not looking into the future.’ Well, in terms of loyalty and class, that’s really not the right answer,” Trump said in his statement.
Trump has promised to make a “big announcement” next week.
Who do you support for the White House in 2022? Trump or DeSantis? Share your thoughts in a Letter to the Editor at letters@villages-news.com.
