What did Soros say about DeSantis? It wasn’t an endorsement.
MUNICH, Germany (FLV) – False claims are circulating social media that left-wing billionaire donor George Soros issued a “kiss of death” to Gov. Ron DeSantis by purportedly giving him a “recommendation” for the presidency in 2024.
Soros was speaking at the Munich Security Conference when he made the remarks.
On the U.S. election coming up next year, Soros said his “hope for 2024” is that DeSantis and former President Donald Trump “slug it out” so Democrats can achieve a “landslide.”
“[DeSantis] is likely to be the Republican candidate,” Soros predicted. “This could induce Trump, whose narcissism has turned into a disease, to run as a third-party candidate. That would lead to a Democratic landslide and force the Republican Party to reform itself.”
“Perhaps I am maybe just a little bit biased,” the billionaire said, who donates primarily to Democrats and left-wing causes.
Remarks from Soros that some claimed warrant a formal “endorsement” occurred when he called the Florida governor “shrewd, ruthless, and ambitious.”
“Trump has turned into a pitiful figure, continually mourning his loss in 2020. Big Republican donors are abandoning him in droves. DeSantis is shrewd, ruthless, and ambitious,” Soros said.
The “shrewd, ruthless, and ambitious” comments came months after DeSantis took swings at Soros’ efforts to make political headway in Florida.
Watch the full clip of Soros’ remarks below:
In August 2022, DeSantis suspended a Soros-funded state attorney from Hillsborough County – Andrew Warren – for vowing to not endorse certain state laws.
“State Attorneys have a duty to prosecute crimes as defined in Florida law, not to pick and choose which laws to enforce based on his personal agenda,” DeSantis said.
The governor called Warren’s record “troubling” and pointed to a letters he signed promising not to enforce laws related to abortions and saying he would not enforce potential bans on sex change operations for minors.
Christina Pushaw, DeSantis’ then-press secretary, slammed Warren and other prosecutors for being “backed by Soros” and refusing to “enforce laws across the country.”
“But [DeSantis] won’t stand for this. He just suspended one in Florida.”
When the Tampa Bay Times asked Warren if George Soros helped fund his campaign, Warren replied, “We think so.”
In June 2022, as the statewide election season began to pick up, DeSantis’ campaign also launched a radio ad that warned South Florida Hispanics of Soros buying out other radio stations.
“They are coming with their ideological agenda. Soros and his minions know what this community represents in the fight against socialism in America. This community will not get confused,” the ad said.
“They are coming with their ideological agenda. Soros and his minions know what this community represents in the fight against socialism in America. This community will not get confused.”
DeSantis has not announced a run for the presidency in 2024.
