Midterm Elections: Donald Trump tries to take credit for Ron DeSantis success for 2018 endorsement
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Donald Trump tried to take credit for his GOP rival Ron DeSantis and his meteoric rise through the party last night, insisting the Florida Governor would be nowhere today if it wasn’t for his 2018 endorsement.
DeSantis stormed to victory yesterday, defeating Democrat Charlie Crist by a whopping 19 points in yesterday’s midterm and flipping the blue stronghold of Miami Dade county.
He is now being praised as the future of the Republican party, with many hopeful he will announce a 2024 Presidential Run.
Trump – who watched from Mar-a-Lago last night as many of his chosen candidates lost – is not among them.
After warning DeSantis against a White House run yesterday by threatening that he ‘knows more about him than his wife’, Trump gave an interview to NewsNation where he tried to take credit for DeSantis’ entire career.
Donald Trump last night tried to take credit for Ron DeSantis last night, claiming without him he would never have won the 2018 midterm or enjoyed the landslide victory seen last night
DeSantis stormed to victory in Florida yesterday, flipping the Democrat stronghold of Miami Dade County. He is shown with his wife and kids on stage last night, celebrating his win
Ron DeSantis raced to a comfortable win over Charlie Crist – the biggest win since the Reconstruction era of the late 1800s
‘He was not going to be able to even be a factor in the race. And as soon within moments, the race was over. I got him the nomination. He didn’t get it. I got it, because the minute I made that endorsement, he got it.’
‘Then he ran and he wasn’t supposed to be able to win. I did two rallies, we had 52,000 people each one and he won.
‘I thought that he could have been more gracious. But that’s up to him.’
DeSantis won yesterday by 19 points – a huge margin and one he couldn’t have dreamed of in 2018 when he clinched victory by just 1 point – after being endorsed by Trump.
It seemed like a political match made in heaven; DeSantis even posed with his kids and a copy of Trump’s The Art of the Deal book to pledge his allegiance.
But in recent weeks and months, a rivalry has formed between the pair, down mostly to rumors that both men are eyeing a 2024 Presidential campaign.
At a rally this weekend, Trump referred to the Florida Governor as ‘Ron De-Sanctimonious’.
Yesterday, Trump said it would be a ‘big mistake’ if DeSantis ran again.
‘I don’t know that he’s running. I think if he runs he could hurt himself very badly.
‘I think he would be making a mistake. I think the base would not like it.’
He also threatened DeSantis and warned him against a 2024 bid.
In 2018, DeSantis campaigned entirely on the fact that he was endorsed by Trump. He included The Art of the Deal in campaign videos and dressed his kids in MAGA onesies
‘If he runs, he runs. If he did run, I will tell you things about him that won’t be very flattering.
‘I know more about him than anybody other than perhaps his wife, who is really running his campaign.’
Ignoring the races where his favorites lost, he told followers on Truth Social that it had been a ‘GREAT EVENING’.
He is however said to be privately ‘livid’ that his candidates lost.
CNN’s Jim Acosta cites an unnamed adviser who said he is ‘screaming at everybody’ today.
In an interview yesterday, he said he deserved credit if Republicans won – but shouldn’t be blamed in the scenario of a loss.
‘If they win I should get all the credit. And if they lose, I should not be blamed at all. But it will probably be just the opposite.
‘When they win, I think they’re going to do very well, I’ll probably be getting very little credit, and if they do badly, they will blame everything on me.
‘I’m prepared for everything. We’ll defend ourselves.’
He also took credit for Ron DeSantis 2018 win, saying he ‘was not going to be a factor’ in the race before his endorsement.
Trump is being blamed for the disappointing Republican results overnight.
Many say it’s time to ‘move on’ from the Trump era, and that his selection of ‘flawed’ candidates was to blame for underwhelming results.
Republicans may still take both the House and the Senate, though a result is not expected for days if not months.
They did not perform as spectacularly as had been predicted, however.
Cautious while the remaining results trickle in, Republicans launched a stinging post-mortem on Wednesday morning and harked back to Mitch McConnell’s August warning that poor candidate quality could stop the party from flipping the Senate.
‘This is a pivot point for the Republican party. Donald Trump is no doubt in the rearview mirror. It is time to move on with the party,’ Geoff Duncan, the Republican Lt. Governor of Georgia, told CNN.
Ignoring the races where his favorites lost, he told followers on Truth Social that it had been a ‘GREAT EVENING’. In an interview yesterday, he said he deserved credit if Republicans won – but shouldn’t be blamed in the scenario of a loss.
‘If they win I should get all the credit. And if they lose, I should not be blamed at all. But it will probably be just the opposite. When they win, I think they’re going to do very well, I’ll probably be getting very little credit, and if they do badly, they will blame everything on me.
‘I’m prepared for everything. We’ll defend ourselves.’
He also took credit for Ron DeSantis 2018 win, saying he ‘was not going to be a factor’ in the race before his endorsement.
‘He was not going to be able to even be a factor in the race. And as soon within moments, the race was over.
‘I got him the nomination. He didn’t get it. I got it, because the minute I made that endorsement, he got it.’
‘Then he ran and he wasn’t supposed to be able to win. I did two rallies, we had 52,000 people each one and he won. I thought that he could have been more gracious. But that’s up to him.’