Donald Trump was a great president. Despite the relentless pursuit by members of a deep state determined to remove him from office, he accomplished a great deal in four years. To name just a few of those achievements: His tax cuts and focus on deregulation triggered an economic boom. He reshaped the judiciary, made America energy independent, strengthened our military, secured our border, and stood up to China.
I voted for Trump in 2016, 2020, and would vote for him again in 2024.
There’s no question America is worse off as a result of his loss in 2020.
While it’s still early days in the race for the GOP presidential nomination, at the present time, it looks like a contest between Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Clearly, they are rivals and they’re expected to attack each other. That’s politics. But Trump’s incessant and childish attacks on DeSantis are backfiring.
Trump is not helping himself by calling the popular Florida governor “Ron DeSanctimonious,” “Meatball Ron,” or “Tiny D.” He’s making himself look immature and decidedly unpresidential. The insults are only reminding people of the reasons why so many independents and even some Republicans turned against him in 2020.
On Monday, Trump took to Truth Social to attack “Ron DeSanctus” again. He praised the governorships of Rick Scott, now a Republican senator, and Charlie Crist, whom DeSantis defeated in 2018. Crist was once a Republican. In 2010, he became an independent, and in 2012, a Democrat. Trump said:
Florida was doing fantastically. You had a governor named Rick Scott who did a very good job. Even Charlie Crist, a Democrat, did a good job – and he had very good numbers.
For those of you that didn’t notice, Florida was doing great long before Ron DeSanctus got there. People are fleeing from New York to Florida and other places because of high taxes and out of control crime. It’s really bad.
Not because of the Governor. Thank you, Mr. President, for doing that. … Florida was doing fantastically, you had a governor named Rick Scott who did a very good job. Even Charlie Crist, the Democrat, did a good job and he had very good numbers, sunshine and ocean are very alluring. It’s not too hard to work with those factors. So, just remember Florida was doing really well long before Ron DeSanctus got there.
WATCH: Donald Trump praises governorships of Charlie Crist and Rick Scott in video addressing DeSantis
"Florida was doing fantastically. You had a governor named Rick Scott who did a very good job. Even Charlie Crist, a Democrat, did a good job – and he had very good numbers." pic.twitter.com/KMB0nF1AKV
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) March 13, 2023
Yes, there’s a lot to like about living in a state like Florida, regardless of who is the governor. But DeSantis has accomplished a lot for Floridians in the past four years which is why he won reelection in a landslide last November.
Trump would help himself immensely if he would stop the attacks.
A previous version of this article appeared on Power Line.
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Concur. He was the greatest president of our time. But the wisecracks detract from his success.
Still, I’ll vote for him again.
I will, too.
Wisecracks can often backfire. Trump was a great president. (My time spans Truman-current. Ike, IMHO, was the greatest in my time.)
If DeSantis runs, I’ll re-register and vote for him. I think there’s a better than even chance that the DNC stole the 2020 election. I don’t think Trump can win. Many, perhaps most, of the RNC pols don’t want him.
If Trump is not nominated, he may run as an independent and do a Teddy Roosevelt (or Ross Perot) 3rd party thing – from whence we got Wilson/Clinton. Sadly.
I don’t see DeSantis as the sort to be responsive to Trump wisecracks. He’s more likely to smile, ignore them, and stick to his own agenda. With a wife recovering from cancer and small children, he may decide to stay in Florida.
I don’t consider what the RNC pols believe of Trump, or any candidate. I also learned my lesson about voting for the candidate who wins the primary. I refuse to turn my back again, unless the Republican candidate turns out to be a died in the wool communist. Actually, my concern is about Ronna McDaniel winning her re-election than who is our next presidential candidate.
I also don’t care what polls say about one thing or another. That’s how people who usually display character get ripped right off their rails, by submitting themselves to the opinions made up for the tasted of the moment. I look at the actions taken, not light and transient statements made.
Some of the most intelligent and thoughtful people on the planet have said some of the most ridiculous things. Is that really the big disqualifier that should keep good actions from the country? Or, is it the one who only holds his tea cup with the proper pinky extended?
I was forced as a child to go to DAR(SAR) functions, and play that game of comportance. I was much happier when I was allowed to be myself, and do and say things that weren’t so proper, on occasion. Kinda like Trump is.
I’ll vote for whoever wins the primary, personality questions set aside.
Trump is incapable of stopping himself. The question is how badly will hurt the chances for Desantis to win? I dunno.
I don’t care about Trump’s primary’ing wisecracks. All I care about is someone who is very conservative landing in the White House, and I don’t see that happening any more, because nothing was really done about the last two elections, which were both ripe with fraud.
People can hurrah for whoever they want, but you have to fix what is broken in our election system.
Actually, what has happened in Arizona to fix that one state’s problem? Nothing! Besides. the next election might just be in the middle of WWIII.
I want very much for a conservative to be the next president. No matter who it is, but I don’t see that anything has been done to ensure that a conservative has a chance.
All the posturing over Trump and DeSantis is a waste of time, and may even be causing more problems. Everything that can be thrown out as a distraction to fix broken election laws, has been done by the Democrats. Problem is that we are helping the Democrats in their distractions, with all this nonsense.
Show me where I’m wrong.
Here’s where I suggest you are wrong, sir.
The GOP and the DNC are not, like Donkeys and Elephants, only slightly different species of four-legged , warm-blooded mammals. The two, since Obama, have adopted vastly different political ideologies.
The members of the DNC march in lock-up. Their primary loyalty is to Party, above Country. Their ideologies are shared and consistent.
The members of the GOP march like a herd of cats. The primary loyalty, for many of them, is the success of their individual political careers. Their goal is to be reelected. (I live in a Congressional District that is example of that, BTW.) Some are just now beginning to awaken to the inherent tyrannical elitism of the DNC.
Granted – many GOP Senators/Congresspersons are, finally, becoming bolder in confronting the Democratic Party. But it may be too late in the game for a generation or two.
You write: “All the posturing over Trump and DeSantis is a waste of time”. I agree. So, who is promoting that “posturing” sir? It’s a product largely of a liberal media that, just as they’ve been bent on dividing the nation, are now working to divide the GOP in advance of the 2024 General Election.
If Trump campaigns for 2024 as he did for 2000, he will not be elected. And worse, he may guarantee the election of another Democrat, as did Ross Perot and Teddy Roosevelt once-upon-a-time.
If he decisively altered his M.O., he might win. But doing that at his age, which is my age with two months, is nearly impossible.
After Obama’s 8 years as POTUS, how many former Executive Branch Democrat senior officials wrote tell-all books on Obama?
After Trump’s 4 years as POTUS, how many of his Executive Banch appointees wrote, or spoken aloud, against Trump? (e.g., including Pence)
Therein is the tale.
I agree about your characterization of the two parties, but I think you are missing the point that further division between the ranks of Republicans only further decreases the chances of success in the future. Sure, we tend to disagree, and are not in that lockstep.
So, how about doing something that brings us more together, in lockstep, than to bow out of a race because the candidate doesn’t fit your version of comportment?
I have no quarrel about DeSantis. I like him, and if he wins, I will not hesitate in voting for him, if we even have a chance at any kind of fair election.
That’s more my concern than over some discussion about how mean and nasty Trump may be. It’s what Trump did, while in office that matters to me, not something the media over amplified into oblivion to divide us.
If we have to live in a world that the media is so successful in dividing us in our opinions and views, we already lost the 2024 election. Count on that!
What’s that old saying, United We Stand, Divided We Fall”? We get our asses handed to us because we are divided by light and transient things, which should not carry the weight some thing they should. We are in a war for our country’s survival.
“…further division between the ranks of Republicans only further decreases the chances of success in the future.”
I totally agree, sir.
The aggressive inclination of DJT is aimed at anyone in any party, and in any political position, that he views as opposition.
“We get our asses handed to us because we are divided by light and transient things, which should not carry the weight some think they should. We are in a war for our country’s survival.”
Again, I agree. So DJT attacks on any GOP real or alleged competitor for the highest office is counterproductive. Unfortunately, I think he’s incapable of focusing on the far left that is pulling America apart, intentionally, and is equally inclined to deploy his vitriol on other Republicans.
If he continues that behavior, he will not only not win re-election, but he will also not be nominated to run. Instead, he may become the reincarnation of Teddy Roosevelt, who brought us the FED, the national income tax, and the Progressive President Wilson.
All I am seeing is a man who might be starting a little early in a primary campaign battle he perceives to be tough, primarily with one candidate who has not even declared. We know Trump’s personality. We also know his accomplishments. I choose the latter over everything else.
I believe your problem with Trump is the same problem I had with him in the 2016 primary and general election.
Other than that, I think we both agree on the major issues with all this, and that makes our point of view a bit prickly between each other. Whether that’s a feature or a bug, I don’t know, but I do know that it probably won’t matter because forces that do matter will not allow another Republican president. We did not correct anything we learned about the 2020 and 2022 elections. Our heads are still in the sand when it comes to the way elections were before 2020.
“…forces that do matter will not allow another Republican president.”
Mark, if you are correct, and I think you are likely so, it will bring an end – for who knows how long – to the U.S. And to the GOP.
Ms. Vaughn, you write:
“While it’s still early days in the race for the GOP presidential nomination, at the present time, it looks like a contest between Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Clearly, they are rivals and they’re expected to attack each other. That’s politics. But Trump’s incessant and childish attacks on DeSantis are backfiring.”
I share your opinion, Ms. Vaughn. DeSantis has not yet declared as a candidate. Trump’s is an unnecessary, preemptive hit on a successful Republican Governor. It is, as you stated, childish.