Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said he has a “fair number” of Republican colleagues in Congress who are “afraid” to support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential bid — despite backing him behind closed doors .
DeSantis’ top surrogate told DailyMail.com that he personally has not received any backlash for his support of DeSantis and urged others to come forward because the worst thing former President Donald Trump can do is “send a mean tweet ‘.
Roy joined the crowd for Governor DeSantis’ town hall with Fox News on Tuesday evening in West Des Moines, Iowa. He sat next to Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis; her son Mason, five; and Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats.
After the town hall, Vander Plaats and Rep. Roy joined DeSantis to speak to members of the Iowa press days before the January 15 caucuses.
Roy was an early supporter of DeSantis and joins the short list of current U.S. lawmakers backing the governor’s primary bid for president.
Texas Rep. Chip Roy (right) told DailyMail.com that he has a “decent number” of colleagues in Congress who are “afraid” to publicly support Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (left), despite backing him privately
“Honestly, what are you afraid of?” Roy wondered Tuesday in an interview in West Des Moines, Iowa. “Like, ‘Oh no, I can’t say anything bad about Donald Trump or someone might tweet at me.’
The others are Reps. Bob Good (R-Va.), Laurel Lee (R-Fla.), Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who also joined DeSantis’ campaign in Iowa added. week before the country’s first primaries.
DeSantis will debate with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley Wednesday evening in Des Moines. They are the only two candidates who qualified and agreed to debate in the pre-caucus CNN showdown.
Former President Trump has refused to participate in any of the Republican primaries. He claims that his front-runner status and popularity among the Republican Party alone should be enough to make him the de facto nominee.
Rep. However, Roy claims that Trump does not debate because he is afraid of confronting DeSantis.
“Like the primary goal is to call the field and pick the best candidate,” Roy told DailyMail.com. ‘Let’s do it. He even shows up for a debate.”
“What makes you think Donald Trump won’t show up for the debate?” the Texas lawmaker asked. “Because Ron DeSantis will kick his ass.”
“Because Ron DeSantis would point out that he has completely failed to secure the border; he completely failed to cut expenses; He has failed utterly by shutting down our economy and racking up a trillion dollars in debt,” Roy summed up. “He would destroy Donald Trump in a debate.”
Roy said Trump’s campaign moves were solely focused on his personal interests, and echoed DeSantis’ warnings that the ex-president would make the 2024 general election a referendum on those who opposed him.
“It goes without saying that almost everything politically for President Trump is ultimately about him — that’s all,” Roy said. “I mean, it’s always been that way, it’s that way currently, it always will be that way.”
“I think that’s part of the great appeal of a strong, cautious conservative like Governor DeSantis — that it’s not about him, it’s about the issues.”
Roy (right) sits next to Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis; son Mason, five; and Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats (left) during DeSantis’ Fox News town hall in West Des Moines, Iowa on Tuesday evening
According to polls, Trump is still in a solid first place among the other Republicans running in the 2024 elections. In Iowa he is at least 30 points ahead, with DeSantis in second place.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has thrown her support behind DeSantis, but Trump still receives far more support from lawmakers than any other candidate.
“There are a fair number of my colleagues who would very much like to support Governor DeSantis, but frankly just aren’t willing to venture into that territory,” Rep. Roy said in his interview with DailyMail.com on Tuesday.
“I’m certainly not going to name anyone,” he added. “Everyone has their own ability to, you know, make their own decisions about those kinds of things.”
“Honestly, what are you afraid of? Right?’ Roy asked. ‘Can’t even handle a mean tweet? Like, “Oh no, I can’t say anything bad about Donald Trump or someone might tweet at me.” Look, we have no kings. So it’s crazy.’