Ron gets checks from top Republican donors as he launches his presidential campaign
What Will Donald Trump Say About His Fourth Presidential Candidate? The Problem with Trump’s Preemptive blitz Against Possible GOP Challengers
Should Donald Trump announce his third presidential bid on Tuesday, as is widely expected, he will begin the next phase of his political career under siege.
It’s only been since 2016 that he’s been seen in a GOP primary, but that was when he unleashed a broadsides against more than a dozen opponents with fury and venom that stunned some observers but delighted a segment of the Republican electorate that would later evolve into his loyal base Few of Trump’s friends are expecting him to act differently in the months ahead. Even if he remains the only declared candidate until others enter the fray next year, he will continue his preemptive blitz against perceived challengers.
While the party battles for control of Georgia, some of Trump’s closest allies said Republicans should prepare for an increase in his attacks on rumored GOP challengers, meaning he could ramp up his criticism during a presidential campaign.
Three Republicans who received the support of Donald Trump in their primaries, Adam Laxalt and Mehmet Oz, lost to Democrats in their states. Meanwhile, Herschel Walker, a longtime Trump friend challenging Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, is headed to a December runoff after both failed to reach 50% support in Georgia.
CNN projected on Saturday that Democrats will keep control of the Senate in the 118th Congress, which is bad for Republicans as they wait for Trump to make a big announcement.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/15/politics/trump-announcement-2024/index.html
The Question of Glenn Youngkin: What Does He Do About His Running for the Presider? Comment on a Fox Business Interview with Richard Earle-Sears
Three sources familiar with the matter said the former president believed Youngkin was supportive of comments his lieutenant governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, made during a Fox Business appearance last week. She said she wouldn’t support Trump if he ran for president again.
When they have become a liability, a leader can understand that according to Earle-Sears. A true leader understands that it’s time to step off the stage, and the voters have given us that very clear message.”
According to one of the former president’s aides, Sears wouldn’t tell the Washington Post whether Youngkin knew before her interview that she was going to split from Trump.
“If Glenn Youngkin decides to run for president, that’s his choice. John Fredericks, a Virginia-based conservative radio host who chaired Trump’s campaigns in Virginia in 2016 and 2020, said that Team Trump is going to mount a massive effort to win the Virginia delegates going to Milwaukee.
DeSantis’ public maneuvering has increasingly drawn the ire of Trump, whose super PAC, MAGA, Inc, is hosting its first major fundraiser at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach on Thursday. In his latest criticism, Trump said Florida was doing great before Ron DeSantis became governor, while praising the leadership of Rick Scott and Charlie Crist. A source told CNN that Trump has 888-269-5556 888-269-5556 888-269-5556 which is the number of aides who work for him.
“I know there’s a lot of criticism and people saying, ‘Just focus on Georgia,’ but he figures there’s no point in waiting. If Herschel loses, he’ll be blamed for distracting from the runoff but if he wins, he doesn’t believe he will get any credit for energizing the base,” said a current Trump adviser.
Nobody should be surprised. Michael Caputo, a former Trump administration official, said that this is how Trump does his primaries. “The question you have to ask is whether this format can work for him again.”
A lot of his top donors will be in Palm Beach this weekend for an exclusive retreat on the same barrier island that Trump calls home.
A person who is close to Trump said that he doesn’t need deep-pocketed donors and that his small-dollar operation is strong enough to weather one of their biggest challenges.
A lack of seasoned operatives willing to join Trump’s next campaign is one of the factors that has left his allies unhappy. Though the president has told allies he wants to keep his operation lean, much like his 2016 presidential campaign, some have privately questioned whether it’s out of preference or due to recruitment troubles. CNN has previously reported that Trump’s likely campaign is expected to be helmed by three current advisers – Susie Wiles, Chris LaCivita and Brian Jack – with assistance from a group of additional aides and advisers with whom the former president is already familiar. Overall, his 2024 apparatus is expected to dwarf in comparison to his reelection campaign two years ago, multiple sources said.
It is possible that Trump could wind up with the nomination, but his backers said they are ready for battle one last time.
The Courage to Be Free: A Conversation with Ron DeSantis during the 2016 GOP Primary Run-Up with Bill McSwain
One of the richest people in the world, and the 42nd wealthiest person, made his presence felt with more than $55 million of donations to Republican causes in federal campaigns. It didn’t include the millions that he spent in his home state of Pennsylvania to help Bill McSwain in the governor’s race. Mastriano ultimately won the GOP nomination with Trump’s support but lost the general election to Democrat Josh Shapiro.
The seven-figure checks arrived ahead of what has amounted to a late-February soft launch of DeSantis’ highly anticipated run for president. On Monday, DeSantis held campaign-style rallies with police officers in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago, where he regaled the crowds with stories of the culture wars. Ahead of a potential GOP primary clash with Donald Trump, DeSantis will next host a three-day retreat for donors this weekend in Trump’s neighborhood. And his memoir, “The Courage to Be Free,” drops next Tuesday, with plans for a national book tour and events scheduled with GOP activists in Texas, California and Alabama.
This cascade of activity is the clearest sign yet that DeSantis intends to jump into the Republican primary, though he’s in no rush to do so. Sources close to the governor say they will wait on a formal announcement until May or June, after state lawmakers hold their annual legislative session. During a Monday appearance on Fox & Friends, DeSantis seemed to confirm the time-line.
“We’re going to sell some books. We are going to tell people about Florida. On March 8, we have our legislative session kicking off. “As we get beyond that, then we decide from there.”
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/22/politics/ron-desantis-donors/index.html
How a Visit from the New York City Governor to the Heart of Trump’s Staten Island is a Wonderful Experience, and What Can He Do About It?
The early support from the upper echelon of GOP mega donors – many of whom have been shopping for an alternative to Trump – could also make it difficult for other would-be contenders to launch a viable bid for the nomination.
En route to raising $213 million for his reelection, the most ever by a non-self-funded gubernatorial candidate, DeSantis collected nearly 300 donations of six figures or higher.
Policy and strategy sessions will be held during the day and evening at the summit. It’s an opportunity for the GOP money class to see another side of DeSantis, who has earned a reputation for shunning donors at receptions and ducking out of events with guests still waiting for a photo.
A consultant for a Republican retreat said, that the undertone of the whole thing was that. He shows his people that he respects them and that they are represented by their voices in a meaningful way. I believe it is about showing they care and strengthening those relationships.
An Illinois circuit court judge said at a DeSantis stop that he was electric and that a lot of people in the group agreed that he should run for president.
Bob Kopp, who is a pastor and a police chaplain, called the former president a “sadist”, but he also voted for Trump twice.
“People can see with their own eyes that things are going well in Florida, so I’m not surprised that his message is resonating. If and when he decides to get in he’ll have to convince people that his vision is best for America,” said New York City councilman Joe Borelli, who met with DeSantis during the visit. I think it will be a difficult choice for the Republicans. We’re glad he came, and maybe dipped his foot in the water here, but we certainly welcome a visit from the former president and anyone else.”
DeSantis’ arrival in New York City put the governor in the heart of Trump’s turf in his former home – Staten Island, the only of the five New York boroughs that Trump won in 2020. While speaking with police officers, he stopped for bagels, posing for pictures, and shrugged off questions about his political ambitions.
