Former President Donald Trump took aim at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and vowed to destroy the “deep state” during a campaign rally in Waco, Texas, Saturday.
“Florida has been tremendously successful for many years, long before this guy became governor,” Trump said. “Florida has been successful for decades.”
Following the rally, Trump told reporters, “He’s got no personality. That tends to be bad for a politician.”
He added that if he hadn’t helped him (DeSantis) become governor, he’d be “probably working at a cigar store or a law firm.”
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Last week, Trump announced a plan to “return power back to the American people by cleaning out the Deep State, firing rogue bureaucrats and career politicians, and targeting government corruption.”
“I will shatter the Deep State, and restore government that is controlled by the People,” said Trump on Tuesday.
On Saturday, Trump echoed those statements saying, “Either the deep state destroys America, or we destroy the deep state.”
He referred to the Biden administration as the “Biden regime,” accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of “prosecutorial misconduct” in investigating him and said “the Supreme Court didn’t have the courage to right the wrong” of the 2020 election.
“When this election is over, I will be the president of the United States,” Trump declared. “You will be vindicated and proud, and the thugs and criminals who are corrupting our justice system will be defeated, discredited and totally disgraced.”
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“I am your warrior. I am your justice. And I took a lot of heat for this one, but I only mean it in the proper way — for those who have been wronged and betrayed … I am your retribution,” he added.
At the rally Saturday, Trump announced his Texas-elected leadership team, which included 12 of the 25 Republican House members from Texas.
- Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Lieutenant Governor of Texas
- Attorney General Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas
- Congressman Ronny Jackson, U.S. Representative from Texas’ 13th Congressional District
- Congressman Troy Nehls, U.S. Representative from Texas’ 22nd Congressional District
- Congressman Wesley Hunt, U.S. Representative from Texas’ 38th Congressional District
- Congressman Michael Burgess, U.S. Representative from Texas’ 26th Congressional District
- Congressman Pete Sessions, U.S. Representative from Texas’ 17th Congressional District
- Congressman John Carter, U.S. Representative from Texas’ 31st Congressional District
- Congressman Randy Weber, U.S. Representative from Texas’ 14th Congressional District
- Congressman Roger Williams, U.S. Representative from Texas’ 25th Congressional District
- Congressman Brian Babin, U.S. Representative from Texas’ 36th Congressional District
- Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne, U.S. Representative from Texas’ 24th Congressional District
- Congressman Pat Fallon, U.S. Representative from Texas’ 4th Congressional District
- Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, Land Commissioner of Texas
- Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, Agriculture Commissioner of Texas
- Congresswoman Mayra Flores, Former U.S. Representative from Texas’ 34th Congressional District
Trump and DeSantis
Conservatives who hope for a Trump-DeSantis Republican presidential ticket in 2024 can give up that dream.
In separate interviews with Newsmax last week, both men rejected the idea of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis being former President Donald Trump’s running mate in the next election.
On Friday, Trump told anchor Rob Schmitt that he “never thought” of DeSantis as a possible running mate.
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“No, I’ve never thought of it,” Trump said. “We have a lot of great people in the Republican Party. I’ve never thought of it; but you know some people every once in a while mention it, but that’s about it.”
“No, I think that would be a very unlikely alliance,” he added.
Trump then more or less sealed the deal by criticizing DeSantis for several votes he made in Congress, including those he said would have hurt Social Security and Medicare.
Trump also said he “appointed” DeSantis because his 2018 endorsement helped DeSantis beat Republican primary rival Adam Putnam in the primary and then “crackhead” Andrew Gillum, the Democrat, in the general election.
Trump’s comments came a day after DeSantis told Newsmax he likely would not team up with Trump.
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Anchor Eric Bolling pointed out that many GOP voters like Trump and DeSantis and asked DeSantis if he would settle for the No. 2 slot.
“I think I’m probably more of an executive guy,” DeSantis replied.
“I think that you want to be able to do things. That’s part of the reason I got into this job is because we have action. We’re able to make things happen, and I think that’s probably what I am best suited for.”
Bolling then asked DeSantis if he, as the nominee, would consider Trump his VP candidate.
DeSantis chuckled, calling that “interesting speculation,” but said the most important thing was to ensure President Joe Biden is a one-termer.
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