A.G. Gancarski
Gov. Ron DeSantis is offering more rhetorical support for former President Donald Trump after the FBI searched and seized documents from his Florida compound, but the Governor seemingly floundered in the face of a follow-up question.
DeSantis, appearing Tuesday on Fox and Friends, was coy when asked by Brian Kilmeade if he had talked to Trump lately about the raid or anything.
“Well, Brian, to the extent I do have conversations with him, I’m sure the Department of Justice and the FBI would leak that to the New York Times, so stay tuned on that,” DeSantis said cryptically.
Before his refusal to answer a question about talking to Trump, DeSantis offered a strong defense of him. He said the FBI’s actions toward the former President were the latest example of “federal agencies in the past five, ten years” that “have been weaponized against people the government doesn’t like.”
“So the FBI has a history now of weaponizing its power to go after people that it doesn’t like. And not only have they done that in a variety of contexts, they’ve gone after Donald Trump as a candidate specifically with Russian collusion. Even when he became President, and they were basically trying to drive him out of office based on a conspiracy theory,” DeSantis asserted.
“You’ve seen FBI agents falsifying FISA applications to get surveillance on innocent Americans,” DeSantis continued. “We’re seeing what’s happening with this Michigan kidnapping hoax, it’s a total disaster for the bureau. You look at what’s happened with having FBI agents surveil parents going to school board meetings, who would have ever thought that?”
DeSantis has offered rhetorical support for Trump, including during campaigning out of state for Trump-endorsed Republican candidates, lambasting FBI actions against people “opposed to the regime.”
“I think that when Republicans look at that and are upset about that, it’s against the backdrop of all that conduct, where basically these agencies have become the enforcement arm of one particular faction of our country against everybody else,” he added. “So that’s why I think that people are concerned about it.”
He also used his political Twitter account to dish up red meat in the immediate wake of the FBI action.
“The raid of MAL is another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the Regime’s political opponents, while people like Hunter Biden get treated with kid gloves. Now the Regime is getting another 87k IRS agents to wield against its adversaries? Banana Republic,” DeSantis asserted on Aug. 8.
However, the open question coming out of this interview isn’t one of whether DeSantis is saying nice things about Trump on live microphones, but if they’re even talking at all in the wake of the FBI raid in DeSantis’ state.
6 comments
Elliott Offen
August 23, 2022 at 11:56 am
DeSantis doesn’t care about the orange shlong. Only using his fetid bowel movement to rope in his deranged supporters.
Fed Up
August 23, 2022 at 12:07 pm
“. . .have been weaponized against people the government doesn’t like.”
That’s not a defense of Trump, that is a clear criticism of the federal government. It is turning itself into something that resembles Argentina or Chile at their worst. You should learn the difference.
As far as who Ron DeSantis talks to, if it is not the official business of the State of Florida, it is none of the damn business of news media, that applies to you.
marylou
August 23, 2022 at 2:03 pm
Timid mouse Merrick Garland would not allow himself to be part of the weaponization of anything. He likely eats his mom’s meatloaf with a spoon because knives and forks are sharp, and has training wheels on his toilet so he doesn’t fall off/in. The Mar-a-Lago warrant had to be an absolute last resort–after months of trying to get back the documents from Trump. For all you know, Trump himself could be in danger as a result of having the documents in his possession.
As far as DeDICKtator, he wants to be in a position ruling over Floridians’ personal lives, so he should welcome scrutiny of his own personal life, including friendships/collusions with potential criminals. Desantis is being far too secretive on a range of important issues to allow voters to make an informed decision in November. Look at his refusal to comment or answer questions about a special session–after the 2022 election— for abortion rights, for example…. always checking which way the wind is blowing, always secretive.
marylou
August 23, 2022 at 4:34 pm
Timid mouse Merrick Garland would not allow himself to be part of the weaponization of anything. He likely eats his mom’s meatloaf with a spoon because knives and forks are sharp, and has training wheels on his toilet so he doesn’t fall off/in. The Mar-a-Lago warrant had to be an absolute last resort–after months of trying to get back the documents from Trump. For all you know, Trump himself could be in danger as a result of having the documents in his possession.
As far as DeDICKtator, he wants to be in a position ruling over Floridians’ personal lives, so he should welcome scrutiny of his own personal life, including friendships/collusions with potential criminals. Desantis is being far too secretive on a range of important issues to allow voters to make an informed decision in November. Look at his refusal to comment or answer questions about a special session–after the 2022 election— for abortion rights, for example…. always checking which way the wind is blowing, always secretive.
tjb
August 23, 2022 at 12:20 pm
I just want to commend DeSantis for his support of law enforcement, especially the FBI. We all know that DeSantis would never weaponize his powers against his opposition.
Russell Barbee
August 23, 2022 at 5:36 pm
Is it “any” of the public’s business, whether DeSantis and Trump have PRIVATE conversations, or not? The question answers itself.
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