Free Republic

Desantis: After the Debate 'I Don't Think Trump Would Be the Nominee'

NEW YORK -- Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said definitively that rival Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, an acknowledgement the Florida governor made after years of equivocating answers.“Of course he lost,” DeSantis said an interview with NBC News posted Monday. “Joe Biden's the president.”DeSantis has often sidestepped questions about whether he believes the 2020 election results were legitimate. But in recent days he has started publicly questioning the lies that Trump and his allies have made about the election's legitimacy.Federal and state election officials and Trump’s own attorney general said there was no credible evidence the election’s outcome was...

"...this sounds pretty whiny for a first-look official campaign ad. The script for it amplifies that quality, as it sounds as though Trump wrote it himself. “Struggling big-time,” “failing so bad,” “Trump’s support was so powerful,” and so on. It’s comic-book language for a comic-book grudge. Everything about this ad is about Trump’s personal affront, and nothing — not a single word — is about the issues of the day, policies Trump wants to implement, or even voters themselves. It’s sixty seconds of personal butt-hurt, broadcast nationally."

A polished Carroll, 79, showed up to the federal courthouse flanked by lawyers and wearing a cream-colored coat, sunglasses and carrying a maroon briefcase as her supporters chanted “We believe E. Jean Carroll.” Trump, 76, was not present.A jury of six men and three women had been chosen by early afternoon — but not before a pool of 48 prospects were grilled by the judge, including about their political leanings. The potential jurors were asked a multitude of questions, such as whether they had any affiliation with groups including QAnon, the Ku Klux Klan, the Proud Boys and other far-right...

A super PAC supporting a potential White House bid from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Saturday it will financially support former President Donald Trump's move to California — just one day after the GOP 2024 front runner took aim at the Sunshine State's leadership and called it the "worst state." "Donald Trump has so deeply disparaged the state of Florida by calling it the ‘worst state,’ we at Never Back Down will help him leave by offering financial assistance to help him move to his beloved California, so he can be close to his good buddy Gavin Newsom, whom he...

A federal judge who will oversee Donald Trump’s sexual assault civil trial in Manhattan says the former president is free to skip attending the trial — but that he cannot claim he did so to avoid “burdens” on the city that his presence in court might cause. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan set the ground rules in an order Thursday in response to a request by Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina that jurors be instructed that Trump didn’t attend in order to avoid “logistical burdens.” In proposed jury instructions submitted Wednesday, Tacopina requested that the judge tell panelists: “While...

Although the landmark 34-count criminal case against former President Donald Trump hinges on his alleged hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, the Manhattan DA’s investigation also deals with a less-familiar name – Karen McDougal. McDougal, a 52-year-old former Playboy Playmate, claims she had an affair with Trump over a decade ago. She also says she was silenced when Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, and the leadership at American Media Inc. paid her for her story in the run-up to the 2016 election — and then buried it. *** In a Feb. 2018 report based on McDougal’s...

If you have spent any time on Twitter or anti-DeSantis conspiracy websites, you will hear how Ron DeSantis is Jeb Bush reincarnated and is a puppet for the Bushes! and Karl Rove! (and the globalists, don’t forget the globalists)(and the three-fingered pudding eaters, don’t forget the pudding eaters). Paul Ryan – who Trump publicly adored – pulls DeSantis’ strings, some say. So great to have the endorsement and support of Paul Ryan. We will both be working very hard to Make America Great Again! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 2, 2016 I’m so old that I remember (a couple...

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has finally broken his silence on his much anticipated potential 2024 presidential run, giving an interview from the governor's mansion in which he said that he has what it takes to be president and "I can beat Biden."DeSantis sat down with Piers Morgan in a wide-ranging interview, saying "stay tuned" when asked about the potential 2024 bid for the GOP nomination. Former President Donald Trump is currently the front-runner for that spot, as he endeavors to earn his second term. "It was clear that the governor has had enough of Trump’s constant baiting and felt ready...

Donald Trump Jr. and others criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for dismissing the rumors of a looming indictment of former President Donald Trump at the hands of leftist Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg as a “manufactured” circus that he wants no involvement in, concluding that the governor is displaying “weakness.” DeSantis weighed in on the news of the looming indictment during Monday’s press conference, stating that he is aware of the rumors of the indictment but has not seen any “facts” yet.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, when asked about rumours of former President Donald Trump's impending indictment, denounced the man in charge of the investigation, New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg. What the man who might be Mr Trump's most formidable presidential rival said next, however, was telling."I don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair," he said. "I just I can't speak to that." He went on to mention "porn star hush money payments" a second time, before pivoting back to criticism of what he called a "high-profile...

DeSantis silent, Vivek speaks.

Listening to Tuesday’s State of the Union speech, it was hard not to lose hope in the future of the country and the American experiment. It was delivered with grandiose delusion by a stammering, brain-addled octogenarian. When he wasn’t tripping over words or making stuff up (how he is taming inflation, as if the president controls interest rates), Joe Biden was being a petulant scold, sounding as if he was ­really angry that someone misplaced his dentures. He wants to raise taxes, expand the welfare state, all because he thinks he knows what’s best even though he barely knows what...

Sundance is that quietly salty cuss who prefers to swing the sharp machete alone amid the deep weeds; clearing the path simply for the sake of creating clarity and larger understanding about the topography of the stuff the professional political class would prefer to keep hidden in the weeds. At times, he settles himself atop the bluff, opens his lunchbox and thermos to eat a simple sandwich, shirt sleeves will suffice as a napkin, while looking at the flow coming into the clearing… Amid this era of insufferable pretending, our dear and rebellious non-pretending CTH friend, the Great Lou Dobbs,...

OCALA, Fla. (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis responded to former President Donald Trump’s ‘ReTruth’ of a post claiming the Florida governor is a “groomer,” in reference to a photo from left-wing media outlet MeidasTouch. The response is one of the most direct ones he’s offered since Trump’s criticism began in late 2022, sparking with the former president’s nickname of the DeSantis being “Ron DeSanctimonious.” “Governor, former President Trump yesterday made a series of posts on TRUTH Social directed at you some were insinuating that…” a reporter asked. DeSantis chimed in, “I get it, I get you guys want the controversy.”...

Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is nearly three months old, but already it’s clear whom he sees as his biggest threat with the Iowa caucuses still a year away: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The perspective comes as Trump continues to act more like an underdog in the race for the Republican nomination. In recent days, the former president has gone after DeSantis, with Trump somehow claiming that Florida “was closed for a long period of time” after the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020. “They’re trying to rewrite history,” he added of DeSantis in an interview earlier this week. It’s an...

John Bolton has been cheerleading Ron DeSantis for an entire decade ... so it's no wonder why he's joining the chorus of RINOS and ingrates who are backstabbing President Trump ahead of 2024. “He’s Donald Trump without the baggage!” has become the rallying cry of a cadre of conservative social media “influencers” and political hacks, who have spent the last six years building their large online followings, selling merchandise, becoming e-celebrities, all while pocketing boatloads of cash off of attaching themselves to President Trump’s name and MAGA/ America First branding. However, in a major plot twist, many of these same...

Trump gave an interview on Thursday to Hugh Hewitt, who repeatedly asked him to spill on what disparaging nicknames he plans to use against those who compete with him in the 2024 Republican primary. When Hewitt floated Glenn Youngkin (R) as a possible bid, Trump referred to the Virginia Governor as a “disappointment,” complaining that he didn’t get enough gratitude from Youngkin or his team even though “I did a lot for him. And he got elected because of me, just like Ron DeSantis. Even more so.” DeSantis is often considered Trump’s biggest potential primary threat, and the former president...

It’s always good to start the week off with a little zing, and what better way to do that than by writing a column that contains some heartfelt and valid criticism of former President Donald Trump? At least my hate mail will be buzzing for a few days. As I am going to have to do every time I write one of these things in the coming months, I will remind everyone that people are allowed to be supportive of Trump AND critique him from time to time. This is a political movement, not a cult.

Former President Donald Trump made waves shortly after midnight Monday by criticizing the Club for Growth, deeming it a “globalist group” and asserting that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and his donors are also globalists. “The Club For No Growth is a GLOBALIST group that I have been taking to the cleaners for years,” Trump wrote in a TruthSocial update, explaining that he worked with the group for a period of time but adding it “couldn’t get away from China, Europe, Asia, and part’s unknown.” “They know I won’t play that game, I am America First all the way. That’s...