Donald Trump has been taking swipes at Ron DeSantis since before the Midterm elections.
But Trump is directing his fire at DeSantis for a reason.
And a spokesman for Ron DeSantis just let the cat out of the bag on why Donald Trump keeps attacking the Governor.
Now that the state legislative session is over, Ron DeSantis is expected to make his Presidential announcement any day now.
POLITICO’s Jonathan Martin recently went to Tallahassee to meet with DeSantis’ inner circle and take an under-the-hood look at his operations.
In an article entitled, “Why the DeSantis Braintrust Thinks It Can Actually Beat Trump”, Martin shared details of his trip with readers.
“Gathered around a conference table at the Florida Republican Party’s headquarters here late last month, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ inner circle did little to hide their eagerness to get into the presidential race or mask their frustration over the rising skepticism about their candidate-in-waiting,” Martin’s column began.
“Nearly six months after DeSantis won a landslide reelection in what was once a battleground state, emerging as one of the few good news stories in a disappointing year for Republicans, the Florida Story has been overwhelmed by a pair of countervailing narratives, to borrow one of the governor’s favorite words: his own inadequacies and the suffocating reemergence of one Donald J. Trump,” Martin continued, before adding “at least that’s how the first stage of the 2024 Republican primary is playing out with party insiders and the press corps paying close attention to what’s effectively spring training season.”
Martin went on to list the reasons why DeSantis’ team is confident he can win the Republican nomination.
DeSantis gubernatorial campaign manager Generra Peck told Martin that based on internal polling “everyone knows the majority of the Republican Party wants to move on” from Donald Trump.
The campaign conducted extensive polling in the early Primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.
Even though the poll took place right after Alvin Bragg’s indictment, which boosted Trump’s numbers, “the Governor still enjoyed a higher net favorability than Trump among likely Republican voters in all three states.”
In Iowa, Trump and DeSantis have similar favorability ratings.
However, only 14% of Iowans have an unfavorable view of DeSantis compared to 24 percent for Donald Trump.
But New Hampshire voters gave Trump a higher unfavorability rating than in Iowa.
Another place where DeSantis’ team remains confident is the critical area of fundraising.
“I know this from all my conversations around the country in the last six months: the major donor network has walked [from Trump], they’re looking for new leadership, and 85 percent of them are waiting for DeSantis,” Texas-based bundler Roy Bailey told Martin.
Martin also discussed Trump’s attacks against DeSantis over the past several months, which they believe are a sign that the Governor “remains well-positioned.”
Martin asked DeSantis’ team why they believe “Trump has wielded nicknames, endorsements and organizing to smother their campaign before it even gets underway?”
“He knows that his greatest threat is Ron DeSantis and that he was coming and coming strongly at some point,” DeSantis’ spokesman David Abrams replied.
Jonathan Martin was impressed by the organization and structure DeSantis’ team is building ahead of his announcement.
No one knows when DeSantis is planning to launch his campaign.
But when he does, all hell will break loose in the Republican Primary.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
