Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis may not officially be a presidential candidate yet. But he has secured the endorsement of one of Capitol Hill’s most influential Republicans: Rep. Thomas Massie.
On Thursday, the GOP congressman from Kentucky told Newsmax that he backs DeSantis because he is being “attacked,” and because he knows what DeSantis believes, having served alongside him in Congress.
“He’s not in the race, but he’s being attacked. So I thought I would come out and vouch for him,” Massie told Newsmax host Eric Bolling.
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Massie rejected the claims of some, such as former President Donald Trump, that DeSantis is part of the “establishment,” or a RINO, meaning Republican in Name Only.
“I just have to laugh because he and I were elected in 2012, the same year, to Congress, and I served with him for six years, and we fought the establishment together the whole time he was there,” Massie said.
The congressman recalled one occasion when he and DeSantis celebrated the 2014 defeat of former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor by Tea Party upstart Dave Brat in a Virginia primary.
“If there was a fight for personal liberty or economic freedom or constitutionally limited government, Ron DeSantis was in the fight all six years,” said Massie.
Massie added that he likes Trump, but that Trump was betrayed by, and stuck by, people who didn’t share his vision for the country.
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On the other hand, DeSantis has a “blueprint” for Florida that could be applied nationally, said Massie. For example, he noted that with COVID-19, DeSantis fired a state surgeon general who refused to look at the data and found one who would.
“We need somebody who surrounds himself with people he can trust, people who are capable, and then inspires them to work for this country. That’s why I’m behind Ron DeSantis 100%,” Massie said.
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