DeSantis Never Met with McCarthy or Ryan to Plot Against Trump, Campaign Says
TALLAHASSEE (FLV) – After former President Donald Trump referred to Gov. Ron DeSantis as “Ron DeSanctimonious” at a rally Saturday night in Pennsylvania, theories circulated social media that the Florida governor is plotting a 2024 primary with U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan and GOP House Minority Lead Kevin McCarthy.
Rich Baris, the director of Big Data Poll, said DeSantis is “chatting with [McCarthy] and Team Paul Ryan behind the back of the man who made him the governor of Florida [Trump].” Baris said he has been told McCarthy and Ryan “have hatched a plan to defeat MAGA in 2024 and Ron DeSantis is the stool.”
“It’s called a shot across the bow and it’s in response to what Trump has been hearing is going on behind his back, which more than a half of dozen donors and scores of sitting congressman have told me is true,” he said.
Florida’s Voice reached out to the DeSantis team on his relations with the GOP establishment and hatching a 2024 run.
A spokesperson for the DeSantis re-election campaign told Florida’s Voice the governor has never met with Ryan or McCarthy to plot a 2024 run against Trump. When asked about the accusation, spokesman Dave Abrams replied: “Completely false.”
The claims from Baris resulted in both sides giving their arguments in support of and against the former president’s comment and whether they believe other anonymous reporting that there is a 2024 battle brewing between the Republican superstars.
Gabriella Hoffman, a media strategist and writer, warned against the website The Conservative Treehouse also spreading the claim that DeSantis is “colluding” with Ryan and McCarthy. “The Bush clan have wrapped their arms around Governor Ron DeSantis as a 2024 weapon to counteract the MAGA movement,” they reported.
“DeSantis is disloyal…not good. Will never vote for DeSantis if he challenges Trump,” one user said.
Another user active in the Florida political space – Max Nordau – was critical of the comments, warning it might feed into the Democrats’ hand of sparking infighting.
“Are you with Filipklownski and the Grift Reaper, or are you with Gov. DeSantis?” he said, citing liberal activists Ron Filipkowski and Daniel Uhlfelder celebrating the comments.
Alex Bruesewitz, CEO of X-Strategies and an ardent pro-MAGA consultant, iterated that Trump did not discourage Floridians from voting for the Florida governor, who has a sizeable lead in the polls, and is aiming to turn out Floridians for all Republicans in his Miami rally Sunday evening.
“Trump is doing a massive get out to vote rally in Miami tomorrow for all Republicans,” he said. “No republican listens to either of those two idiots [Filipkowski and Uhlfelder].”
Other users pointed out that DeSantis speaking with McCarthy alone is not evidence of disloyalty, as Trump endorsed McCarthy for re-election as a “strong and fearless” House leader.
“In Congress, Kevin is a tireless advocate for the people of Bakersfield and the Central Valley. He is working incredibly hard to Stop Inflation, Deliver Water Solutions, and Hold Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi Accountable for their catastrophic failures and dereliction of duty,” Trump said of McCarthy. “Kevin McCarthy has my Complete and Total Endorsement.”
Publicly, DeSantis has repeatedly laughed off the notion he will run in 2024 and both have said there is no feud.
On Trump, the Florida governor has been a long-time defender of the former president, recently slamming Democrats for impeaching him and touting the effectiveness of what Sean Hannity called “MAGA conservatism.”
“If you just show some common sense, you know, you’re gonna get very far with a lot of voters […] We’re just doing basic, common sense, tried and true, American principles,” he said.
On President Joe Biden’s phone call with Saudi Arabia about waiting to decrease oil production until after Nov. 8’s election, Hannity said if a “guy with the last name Trump or DeSantis” made that phone call, it would be called “collusion.”
“Literally, he would have been impeached if the Democrat standard would apply to him. I mean, they impeached Donald Trump based on a phone call to Ukraine,” DeSantis replied. “And, there has been a lot of mismanagement [of U.S. money by Ukraine] – that was an absolutely valid concern that he had.”
Both Trump and DeSantis are holding rallies Sunday evening. Trump will be in Miami joined by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, among others, and DeSantis will be in Hillsborough, Sarasota, and Lee County. The election is on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.
