Republican Governor Ron DeSantis accused Manhattan’s district attorney of weaponizing the law against Donald Trump, but avoided using the former president’s name in an hour-long campaign-style speech Saturday.
It illustrates how likely candidates for the 2024 Republican nomination have been put in the awkward position of having to run behind the front-runner.
And it shows how DeSantis has had to struggle with trying to keep the Trump base on the sidelines after being knocked down for a half-hearted defense of his rival when reports of impending impeachment first surfaced.
DeSantis tried to cut the wire by aiming his fire at Alvin Bragg, the prosecutor behind the case.
“When he was elected, his whole position was that he would relegate as many felonies as possible to misconduct,” he told the Pennsylvania GOP Leadership Conference.
Ron DeSantis accused the Manhattan district attorney of weaponizing the law against Donald Trump, but avoided using the former president’s name in a campaign-style speech on Saturday
DeSantis slammed Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg (right) but avoided using Trump’s name
Now he’s turning around, purely for political purposes, and suing a former president for offenses they’re trying to turn into felonies.
“Then you know that the law has been used for political purposes.”
It was the only mention of Trump. And he avoided using his rival’s name.
Bragg was elected District Attorney in Manhattan in 2021. He converted the investigation into a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels after the case was dropped by federal prosecutors.
Still, while in office, he vowed to drop certain crimes because “over-incarceration” had failed to make the borough any safer.
That has made him a target for the right, who blame him for rising crime.
DeSantis has not yet declared his candidacy for president. But he is widely expected to announce a campaign within weeks.
After his star rose last year after a landslide re-election victory, his polls have fallen and he has lost ground to Trump.
On Saturday, DeSantis left viewers in no doubt that a campaign announcement is coming. His speech summed up his achievements, but also laid out his rationale for each policy decision
A grand jury has heard evidence of allegations Donald Trump paid $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence on their affair
Trump allies say he seriously bungled his responses to the Manhattan inquiry.
When the former president said two weeks ago that he expected to be arrested within days, the governor of Florida said nothing for two days.
He eventually tackled the issue after being asked by journalists. And then suggested he had more important things to worry about.
“I don’t know what’s involved in paying a porn star hush money to keep quiet about some alleged affair,” he told his former mentor plainly.
He tried again Thursday when news broke that a grand jury in Manhattan had voted to indict the former president.
DeSantis sent out a tweet saying he would not be involved in an attempt to extradite Trump from Florida to New York.
“Arming the justice system to advance a political agenda is turning the rule of law upside down,” he said. “It’s un-American.”
Trump is expected to voluntarily travel to New York to be arrested. But Florida Governor Ron DeSantis tweeted that he would make no effort to extradite the former president
Trump supporters said it was too little and too late. They said the former president intended to voluntarily travel to New York, making extradition proceedings unlikely.
In any case, legal scholars said the governor had no authority to prevent extradition.
“He’s trying to have his cake and eat it,” said radio host and Trump confidante John Fredericks.
Trump has a 30-point lead over DeSantis. After Tuesday, that lead has doubled.’
But Trump hasn’t quite had his way. He’s also trying to figure out how to deal with a likely rival beloved by many of his supporters.
When he attacked DeSantis at a rally in Waco, Texas, last weekend, the crowd fell silent. On the other hand, consultants say small donations go into the campaign with every attack.
Other likely rivals have also rallied behind Trump, including former Vice President Mike Pence, who fell out with his boss over the events of January 6, 2021.
“It is clear to the vast majority of the American people that this is nothing short of a political prosecution influenced by a Manhattan district attorney who literally campaigned to indict a particular American,” he said in Friday’s press release. the National Review Institute in Washington.
He is also expected to announce a presidential run in the coming weeks.
On Saturday afternoon, DeSantis left viewers in no doubt that a campaign announcement was coming.
He covered everything from transportation sports and textbooks to the federal government’s COVID response and immigration.
His speech listed his achievements, but also laid out his philosophy and reasoning for each policy decision.
“A leader doesn’t respond to polls – a leader gets in front of problems, identifies what needs to be done, sets the vision, executes the vision, delivers the results and guess what happens when you do… the polls turn into your direction,” he said.
“So we don’t do polls, we do what’s right.”