Trump, DeSantis’ teams get into ballsy exchange ahead of Nevada lamb testicle festival

Aides to former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis got into a ballistic exchange ahead of Saturday’s Nevada lamb testicle festival.

DeSantis is making his first trip to Nevada since his announcement in 2024.

He will visit a Veterans of Foreign Wars hall, attend a rodeo and then headline the annual Basque Fry, serving up the Western delicacy.

“Not surprised Ron DeSantis is looking for a set b****,” said Trump senior adviser Chris LaCivita told NBC News when asked about Florida Governor’s trek to the Silver State.

That comment did not go down well with Erin Perrine, the communications director of the pro-DeSantis PAC Never Back Down. “The Trump team’s obsession with men’s genitals is more perverse than an awakening grooming book,” Perrine told NBC.

The bigger issue at play is whether DeSantis can push through in Nevada, where Trump has had strong support in the state’s Republican Party but lost the state in both general elections.

Adam Laxalt, the failed 2022 Republican Senate candidate who heads a pro-DeSantis super PAC, thought so.

“Trump has not won Nevada the last two go-arounds,” Laxalt told NBC. “I was Trump president twice. I don’t see a chance for him to win Nevada in the general election.”

“Those voters are not coming back,” Laxalt added.

Laxalt’s grandfather Paul Laxalt was the governor of Nevada and represented the state in the United States Senate.

The modern Basque Fry is modeled after an event held by Paul Laxalt.

“We have to compete in the field the Democrats compete on,” Laxalt continued, referring to the collection of ballots and the submission of ballots. “They’re here for the 2024 election.”

“I know Governor DeSantis officially said this, and I shared the same sentiment: We’re going to have to compete on ballot collecting and these methods — and anything can count,” he continued.

Laxalt also believed that DeSantis’s 20-point re-election victory over Republican-turned-Democrat Charlie Crist proved that he is a candidate who can govern with conservative principles, yet still attract female voters and independents.

When asked by NBC how DeSantis signing a six-week Florida abortion ban might affect the governor’s ability to win a general election, Laxalt objected.

He argued that voters are looking for a change from President Joe Biden and his policies.

LaCivita cast Laxalt as the loser.

“So Adam Laxalt, who lost the gubernatorial race in ’18 and lost the Senate race in ’22, is President Trump lecturing?” LaCivita said. “That’s the pot calling the kettle black.”

Taylor Budowich, the CEO of MAGA Inc., Trump’s top super-PAC, told NBC about DeSantis, “There’s no sign that he can win in any state.”

“It’s evident in their sort of ham-handed approach,” Budowich said. “They’re just largely spinning their wheels without formulating a path to winning a single state.”

MAGA Inc.’s spokesperson Karoline Leavitt even mocked the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down PAC for state ads, with the most recent ad highlighting Florida’s governor’s participation in the Basque Fry.

Leavitt called it a desperate attempt “just to get people to come to DeSantis’ events.”

The Basque Fry usually attracts hundreds of people munching on the so-called ‘lamb fries’.