SNEAKY: Ron DeSantis reportedly working to prevent Trump endorsements

SNEAKY: Ron DeSantis reportedly working to prevent Trump endorsements

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is reportedly prepping for 2024 by reaching out to would-be endorsers of Donald Trump, and asking them not to throw their support behind the leading Republican candidate.

DeSantis isn’t quite ready to openly stand up to Trump, but he’s quite willing to do it in more discreet (not to say sneaky or underhanded) ways, mocking the former president without saying his name, and mounting a pre-campaign with his book tour.

Now he’s reportedly working to reach potential supporters, and ask them not to attach their names to Trump 2024 quite yet.

Representative Byron Donalds made his endorsement last week, choosing Trump in a surprise abandonment of DeSantis.

Donalds, a known ally of the Florida governor and a gubernatorial hopeful at some unspecified future point himself, raised hackles with the decision, and may have cost himself an endorsement for that office when and if he does run.

Now DeSantis seems to be taking steps to stave off recurrences, actually contacting other big names in right-wing politics and asking them to hold off making an endorsement.

He hasn’t yet officially entered the race, but that hasn’t stopped Trump from treating him like a political enemy, which is to say, attacking him, slapping him with nicknames, and even making threats to his political longevity.

Now at least six of Florida’s representatives (Aaron Bean, Vern Buchanan, Kat Cammack, Mario Diaz-Balart, Laurel Lee and Greg Steube) say they’ve gotten calls from DeSantis, which seem to be aimed at urging them to withhold endorsements of Trump’s campaign.

Not all have taken the calls — Steube, for one, says that he assumes the call was about his endorsement, and that he will make decisions about that when he’s ready. From the Herald Tribune:

“The push by DeSantis to consolidate support in Florida comes after Trump picked up two more endorsements in the state over the last week, U.S. Rep. Cory Mills and U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds. U.S. Reps Matt Gaetz and Anna Paulina Luna also have endorsed Trump.”

The race is a rather unpredictable one. Trump is effectively turning a significant portion of his MAGA demographic against DeSantis.

At the same time, he’s facing a rapid succession of legal issues — so many that lately, he seems to only have time for social media attacks on judges, Attorneys General, District Attorneys, Grand Juries, and prosecutors, with little leftover for political opponents.

In Florida, at least, polling is a toss-up — just weeks ago, Forbes was reporting on a poll that placed Trump ahead of DeSantis (47%-44%) among Florida voters, while a Miami Herald report on another poll this week places DeSantis in the lead (44%-39%).

Notice that DeSantis’ support level is unchanged, while Trump’s varies drastically, and that his indictment falls between the two polls.

On one hand, the GOP primary won’t be decided only by Florida voters, and on the other, Trump could very well be hit with more indictments before the primary next year.

DeSantis is holding out before officially launching a campaign, but seems to be starting the process behind the scenes.

Stephanie Bazzle

Steph Bazzle is a news writer who covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph. Sign up for all of her stories to be delivered to your inbox here: