After branding Ron DeSantis (R-Gov. FL), a “flawed candidate” in an interview with Rolling Stone, Republican strategist Ed Rollins is abandoning DeSantis’ presidential bid in 2024.
Rollins said he didn’t blame the campaign in general but rather blamed DeSantis. He is marred by many flaws.
Rollins said that some of the people around DeSantis are talented. Unfortunately, whenever he speaks, he has a propensity to speak before thinking and doesn’t know the rules of the game. Most people are unaware of what you’re getting into when you engage in cultural warfare like he has.
DeSantis reportedly labeled Rollins’ comments “nonsense” during a Monday interview with Fox News. He said he would lead without fear.
One Republican contributor quoted in the Rolling Stone story expressed doubt that the recent shakeup of DeSantis’ campaign team will affect the candidate’s chances in the next election in 2024.
The only thing that can rescue DeSantis in the primary is a complete overhaul and genuine accountability, but DeSantis is still at the helm. And it’s not difficult to recognize it is not only his campaign staff but also himself as the source of the issue.
Robert Bigelow, a megadonor for Ron DeSantis, has already put $20 million into the candidate’s floundering campaign.
According to a source, billionaire contributor Bigelow has warned the DeSantis campaign that until the candidate takes more moderate stances, he would not provide any further money. When reporters in Iowa asked DeSantis about the indictment of Donald Trump and allegations of election fraud in 2020, DeSantis said that all of the election fraud theories that were put out did not prove true.
Reports show DeSantis laid another egg recently at a cookout given by former Senator Scott Brown in New Hampshire when he promised to “slit throats on Day One” when he took office (referring to bureaucrats). He then said that Washington was naturally protective of its own, so expect an enormous outcry.
The American Federation of Government Employees, the biggest federal employee union in the country, condemned him. DeSantis was urged by AFGE National President Everett Kelly to take back his careless words.
