EXCLUSIVE: Former Trump aide who runs DeSantis’ Super PAC insists Vivek Ramaswamy and Tim Scott are NOT threats — despite their meteoric rise in the polls and Florida governor’s decline

The founder of the pro-Ron DeSantis political action committee Never Back Down told DailyMail.com that he does not view Senator Tim Scott or Vivek Ramaswamy as a threat to Florida’s governor.

Ken Cuccinelli, who was a top Homeland Security aide under Donald Trump, defected from the ex-president and is now helping support DeSantis’ bid for the White House.

While DeSantis consistently ranks a distant second to Trump, some of the other candidates in the crowded field are gaining some ground on him, with Scott and Vivek often trading for third — but Cuccinelli isn’t worried.

Rather, he says the “oxygen keeps getting sucked out of the room” every time Trump gets a new indictment.

Cuccinelli said Wednesday’s debate will help DeSantis (pictured Friday) gain ground with American voters who haven’t been able to see him without the media lens on

Cuccinelli said Wednesday’s debate will help DeSantis gain ground among American voters who have not been able to see his personality with their own eyes and not through a media lens.

Speaking to DailyMail.com in Atlanta, Georgia, where both Never Back Down’s headquarters are located and where the former president received his fourth and final indictment, Cuccinelli said DeSantis’ team faces juggling frequent assaults, but also breaking the Trump news. bicycle.

Senator Scott (RS.C.) and biotech millionaire Ramaswamy are both battling to dethrone DeSantis from his No. 2 spot behind Trump.

Cuccinelli ran Never Back Down PAC as a way to encourage DeSantis to run for president before announcing his bid in May.

While claiming Democrats believe they have “hit gold from their radical, crazy leftist perspective” with their charges against Trump, he said the continued focus on the ex-president is “not good for America.”

“(DeSantis) takes all the incoming, you know, attacks,” Cuccinelli said. “But that tells me who everyone sees as a threat. And he’s got stamina and he’s resilient. He has a great work ethic. He has more fun on the track, which builds stamina.’

When asked if Scott or Vivek could outrank DeSantis, Cuccinelli was not convinced they pose a threat to the campaign.

“I don’t think that’s necessarily where the threat comes from,” he told DailyMail.com. “It’s personality and who’s going to do what.”

Cuccinelli said Scott is so “nice” he doesn’t even attack the Democrats and that Ramaswamy is a hypocrite who preaches not to attack other GOP candidates but then attacks DeSantis

Cuccinelli, a former Trump Homeland Security aide, said Trump continues to “take the oxygen out of the room” with his ongoing legal woes. It comes after Trump was handed his fourth indictment on Monday, which contains 41 counts and names 18 other individuals in the plot to overturn the results of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election

“Vivek likes to get on TV and say, ‘You know, we shouldn’t all attack each other after he attacked DeSantis five days in a row,'” he said.

‘It’s one after the other. And it’s getting really old and I’ll be honest, part of the reason it’s getting old is because you guys don’t hold him accountable at all,” he added, claiming that the media should point out the hypocrisy.

Scott, on the other hand, doesn’t attack political opponents enough, Cuccinelli said.

“I’ve never seen Tim Scott attack anyone, not even the Democrats,” he said. “And you have to be a boxer to win. He’s a super nice guy.’

Scott and Cuccinelli both spoke Friday at conservative radio host Erick Erickson’s conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Ramaswamy will also speak at The Gathering on Saturday.