Ron DeSantis blames Donald Trump for 2022 setbacks

trump desantis
'So I’m not sure what he’s saying.'

Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to rebut Donald Trump’s apparent belief that he’s not central to what the Governor calls a “culture of losing” in the Republican Party.

During an interview Monday on the Guy Benson Show, the Governor pushed back against the former President, linking him to bad outcomes in every election cycle since 2016.

“Well, we have had three election cycles in a row where we have had poor results. I mean, that’s just the fact, 2018, lose the House, 2020, presidency and the Senate. And then, 2022, the circumstances were probably never better for our party in the last 10, 15 years, to have a floundering president in Joe Biden, approval rating at 40%,” DeSantis observed.

“And what did we do? Not only did we not gain Senate seats. We lost a Senate seat, yes, picked up the House, but on the skin of our teeth, and really just because of Florida and New York. And so it was a historic underperformance across the board,” DeSantis added, before questioning whether the former President knew what he was talking about.

“So I’m not sure what he’s saying that his candidates did well in the midterms. If that were the case, we would have 54 Senate seats. We would have swept all the governorships. All that stuff was in play for us as a party, and we weren’t able to get it done.”

These comments were the second attempt Monday to respond to Trump’s attacks on DeSantis as not a “winner.”

“First of all, I’m not at all caught up in the past. And second of all, I’m doing much better against Biden than he is in the polls, and I’m doing much better against him,” Trump told The Messenger. “I mean, I’m beating (DeSantis) by 40 points in some polls, so he can talk about what he wants. And third of all, I did very well in the Midterms.”

The comments on Fox News Radio amplified remarks the Governor made in Sarasota earlier Monday.

“I think the party has developed a culture of losing. I think that there’s not accountability. And I think in Florida, we really showed what it takes to not just win, win big and then deliver big.”

“Ultimately, when you’re doing all this, what results are you producing for people? That’s really what matters. You can sit there and talk about cable news, social media, all these other things that people are fixated on,” DeSantis added. “And for me it’s like, ‘OK, what’s that true north?’”

“You’ve obviously got to win, otherwise you don’t get a ticket to the dance,” DeSantis continued. “But once you do that, how are you going to be able to actually bring about big change to make people’s lives better?”

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has written for FloridaPolitics.com since 2014. He is based in Northeast Florida. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


7 comments

  • corruption and abuse of power in Florida

    May 15, 2023 at 7:42 pm

    then why is DeSantis a Trump lite ?

    • James Zambroski

      May 15, 2023 at 11:06 pm

      Didn’t I read a story saying that DeSantis is telling big donors that he’s Trump without all the drama? My friend Deborah said it best–same snake, different skins…..

  • Joe

    May 15, 2023 at 9:57 pm

    Li’l Ron’s kids are going to be SO confused when they get older and see that ad with Tiny D reading Trump’s book to them like a bedtime story.

  • Dont Say FLA

    May 16, 2023 at 8:25 am

    I thought Rhonda was talking about himself and his widdle baddles with Disney World (dangerous gays, lol) and the beach (boats of dangerous immigrants, lol again) while he encourages more shootings of more Floridans and of course the German tourists assuming the Germans still havent’ learned to stay out of Florida and stay away from Floridians

  • Rob Desantos

    May 16, 2023 at 12:54 pm

    Yep folks, that’s Ron Desanctus, the most confused Ivy league grad you’ll ever see.

    • Impeach Biden

      May 16, 2023 at 9:46 pm

      Says the high school dropout.

      • Dont Say FLA

        May 17, 2023 at 9:49 am

        IB changing the topic always works. LOL. Rhonda is a Yarvard and Hale grad. Everything the man claims to be or to believe is just pandering bullshit for the MAGA base. Rhonda thinks he is smarter than the MAGA base, and, honestly, he is smarter than the MAGA base. However, he isn’t remotely as deviously clever as Trump. Therefore, Two Time Ivy League Grad Rhonda, he will lose to Losing Trump. GOP’s best hope for 2024 would be Georgia Gov Brian Kemp, but Kemp probably ain’t dumb enough to get in and run right now while Trump pwns the GOP.

Comments are closed.


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