Winner and Loser of the Week in Florida politics — Week of 6.4.23

Former President Donald Trump is now facing charges after retaining documents in his Mar-a-Lago estate post-presidency. While we’ll have more on what that means for Trump below, let’s spend a minute on his presidential opponents’ reaction to this historic news.

Many Republicans rushed to the former President’s defense in April when a Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump. The lower stakes of those charges, along with the fact that details of them had circled around in the public sphere for several years, showed it wasn’t likely the former President would face serious repercussions there.

That likely gave cover to Republicans to stick up for Trump, even his 2024 opponents. They were able to stand strong in hopes of winning over his supporters. That case was never going to be a political kill shot anyway, so why press the issue?

Now, with far more serious charges facing the President, you may think his competitors would have kept their powder dry and waited for the facts to come out before presenting themselves as obedient guard dogs for the guy currently smacking all of them around in 2024 Primary polling.

Nope. Instead we are seeing political malpractice.

Gov. Ron DeSantis called the indictment — before anyone read it — a “weaponization of federal law enforcement” that “represents a mortal threat to a free society.”

That sounds hysterical even coming from an uninterested party. But this is the guy he is trying to overtake to become President. Is blindly throwing himself in front of a potential political grenade heading toward Trump really DeSantis’ best move?

Vivek Ramaswamy similarly sucked up to Trump in his remarks, but many see him as running for a position in the Trump executive branch rather than to win, so no surprise there. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott also referenced “weaponization” in his statement, while Nikki Haley bemoaned “prosecutorial overreach, double standards and vendetta politics.”

On the flip side, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson called for Trump to drop out of the race.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had the seemingly only reasonable take in his remarks. “We don’t get our news from Trump’s Truth Social account. Let’s see what the facts are when any possible indictment is released,” he said. “As I have said before, no one is above the law, no matter how much they wish they were. We will have more to say when the facts are revealed.”

Look, it’s probably not a wise move to pounce, as Hutchinson did, without more facts coming out. He’s polling in the negatives, though, so he has nothing to lose here.

But sure, if DeSantis and the other main contenders don’t want to immediately condemn Trump before anything more is revealed, then keep your powder dry. Give a generic statement, much like Christie did, saying you’re waiting for the facts.

Why, though, would they immediately start defending the guy, especially when one route to the nomination is for Trump to be buried in a pile of indictments so high, voters finally get tired and seek someone more certain to win a General Election? Would those same Republicans rush to the defense of President Joe Biden if he was indicted?

We’re not raising that contrast to point out hypocrisy. Just in purely political terms, of course you hit the person you’re trying to run against, and any Republican would sprint to a microphone as soon as that happened.

Well, guess what? Trump is your opponent. He’s polling at above 50% in survey after survey while the rest of the candidate field is fighting for scraps.

No one should be convicting the guy now. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty. But Trump’s Republican rivals should at least keep open the option that if Trump really did jerk around with national security, they will be ready to hit him on it.

So what’s the reason? They need Trump’s voters, of course. Trump’s sycophants are already initiating the rallying cry for support. And any milquetoast statement will be seen as openly hostile by his base. That leads to DeSantis, et. al., blindly defending Dear Leader, which also seeks to further poison the well should a jury find Trump guilty down the line.

So it’s not just political malpractice, it’s also political cowardice.

Now, it’s on to our weekly game of winners and losers.

Winners

Honorable mention: Fred Hawkins. South Florida State College (SFSC) trustees have officially selected Hawkins to serve as its next President.

The pro forma move comes after Hawkins was named the lone finalist for the position. He’ll leave the House early to take on the new role.

“Pages turn and new chapters begin. I am looking forward to becoming the next President of South Florida State College,” Hawkins said when making the decision to pursue the position. “My time as an elected official has been a highlight of my life, especially serving in the Florida House.”

The move makes sense for Hawkins, who won his seat by 10 points last November. Nevertheless, the region went for President Joe Biden by 7 points in 2020. That makes it more competitive than it appears when looking at just the results in 2022, when Republicans had a historic election year. If things come a bit more back down to earth during a contentious 2024 Presidential Election, a Democrat could fare far better here.

The move is notable given that Hawkins has no higher education experience. But that was no hurdle, as several higher ed institutions in Florida have moved to select conservative leaders amid a push by DeSantis to regulate the state’s education curriculum more tightly.

SFSC has campuses in Highlands, DeSoto and Hardee counties.

Almost (but not quite) the biggest winner: Charlie Crist. President Biden appointed Crist to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations agency.

The post is the next step for Crist, who declined to run for another term in the U.S. House to join the 2022 Governor’s race. He won the Democratic nomination, but lost by 20 points to incumbent Gov. DeSantis.

Now, if the Senate confirms Crist, he’ll represent the U.S. on the 36-member body which develops proposals for international air travel.

From the U.S. perspective, planning should factor in environmental concerns. That’s an area the White House hit upon in a release announcing Crist’s nomination.

“As Governor, Crist guided the state through challenging times, including the Great Recession and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill,” the White House wrote, referencing Crist’s prior tenure as Governor from 2007 to 2011.

“Despite drastic budget shortfalls due to the economic crisis, he made public education top priority, steering federal stimulus funding to save thousands of teachers’ jobs. He is also a staunch environmental advocate, working at the federal and state levels to help secure billions in public and private aid to restore the Florida Everglades.”

Crist embraced Biden on the 2022 campaign trail, as some candidates stayed away from the President, who has held consistently low approval ratings since early last year. The move didn’t help Crist’s election prospects, but his loyalty certainly didn’t hurt his standing as the White House evaluated candidates for open posts.

The biggest winner: Miami. All eyes are on the 305. And much of that attention goes beyond politics.

The Miami Heat are continuing the Year of the Florida Sports Team, with a Cinderella run to the finals. This week saw the Heat host their first home game of the series, with Miami unfortunately getting walloped at home by the Denver Nuggets.

Of note, the Florida Panthers are mounting their own miracle run, though they technically play in neighboring Broward County.

Not to be outdone, Miami’s soccer team finally nailed down Lionel Messi after months of rumors they were looking to sign the soccer superstar. The move by Inter Miami brings arguably the greatest player of all time to American soil. And while the 35-year-old Messi is certainly no longer in his prime, he is fresh off a stellar performance in the 2022 World Cup, where he finally secured a much-sought-after win for his home nation of Argentina.

There is perhaps no better pairing in Major League Soccer for the South American icon than in South Florida. And with soccer’s popularity continuing to rise in the U.S., Messi is poised to make an impact not seen since Pelé’s brief U.S. stint in the mid-1970s.

And there is certainly plenty of big political news emerging out of Miami-Dade. Trump’s federal indictment will be heard by a Miami federal court. That means plenty more reporting coming out of Miami in the months ahead as the case makes its way through the legal process.

Plus, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is continuing to make moves ahead of an expected presidential run. That announcement could happen this month.

The heat is on in South Florida, and not just because summer is approaching.

Losers

Dishonorable mention: Anthony DeFillipo. Gov. DeSantis has suspended the North Miami Beach Mayor after he was arrested following voter fraud charges.

DeSantis issued an executive order removing DeFillipo from office, as yet another twist as DeFillipo faces blowback for allegedly living outside North Miami Beach while serving as Mayor.

“It is in the best interests of the residents of the City of North Miami Beach, and the citizens of the State of Florida, that Anthony F. DeFillipo II be immediately suspended from the public office which he now holds,” DeSantis said in the executive order.

“Anthony F. DeFillipo II is prohibited from performing any official act, duty, or function of public office; from receiving any pay or allowance; and from being entitled to any of the emoluments or privileges of public office during the period of this suspension, which period shall be from today until a further Executive Order is issued or as otherwise provided by law.”

Commissioners had been in a standoff with the Mayor after an allegation emerged that DeFillipo actually lived in Davie, in Broward County.

DeFillipo had pushed back against the claims. But earlier this month, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office filed voter fraud charges against DeFillipo, turning his political problems into criminal ones.

Now, he’s out, with Vice Mayor Jay Chernoff stepping in.

Almost (but not quite) the biggest loser: Florida taxpayers. It appears the Governor’s insistence on involving Florida in stunt flights to move migrants across the country is going to lead to further legal trouble for the state.

Early this past week, a Texas Sheriff said he was recommending charges surrounding last fall’s initial round of flights from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard.

Prosecutors must still make a call on whether to file charges. And it’s unclear whether the state or state officials will be targets, or whether charges would be focused on those on the ground who recruited the migrants. But this also isn’t the only migrant-related trouble DeSantis dragged Florida into this week.

Amid reports that another set of migrants was recently flown from Texas to Sacramento, California’s Governor and Attorney General have threatened investigations into the transport of those migrants.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said he is confident the move was criminal, but told NBC News an investigation will have to determine who was responsible.

“I mean, the buck should stop with Ron DeSantis and the games he’s playing,” Newsom said. “But it’s the folks on the front lines that were doing the dirty work. And that’s ultimately what we have to determine, is where the culpability lands and resides.”

A recent report from The Guardian attempted to tally up the millions the state has ponied up to defend myriad lawsuits over several issues, such as last year’s 15-week abortion ban (which will be cut to six weeks per another bill passed this year), the state’s war with Disney, DeSantis’ decision to suspended a State Attorney, the Governor-imposed redistricting plan, and many others.

The migrant flights — both sets of which originated in Texas, not Florida — now could add to that pile going forward.

It’s a good thing lawmakers gave the Governor a $16 million pot of money this Session to defend additional lawsuits.

And look, this doesn’t mean elected officials should never wander into legally dicey territory and be scared out of passing needed legislation. Any opposition group can file a lawsuit. The state will win many of these cases.

But it does go to show that getting a culture war win isn’t free. It may feel good that DeSantis is “sticking it to the feds and liberal California” with these migrant flights. But how did it help Florida? How did it help Floridians? And do we want our tax money going to defend lawsuits over these stunts, which gin up headlines but do little to solve the border crisis or help these migrants?

This isn’t just a liberal complaint. Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has criticized moving migrants further inland. Other MAGA supporters have also argued the moves will make migrants harder to find.

And the programs themselves are costing us money. Is this really the best way to fight back against the “woke left?” By siphoning our own pocketbooks to relocate migrants out of Texas?

The biggest loser: Trump. The former President has been indicted once again, this time on far more serious charges.

Special Counsel Jack Smith is reportedly bringing forward a whopping 37 counts against Trump, plus another against a top aide. The indictment accuses Trump of illegally retaining classified documents and tacking on charges relating to obstruction, giving false statements and conspiracy.

As the news broke last week, Trump remained largely silent in the face of charges but vowed to fight them.

Just kidding! He lashed out with statement after statement — including a fundraising pitch — calling the investigation a “hoax,” “election interference” and a “witch hunt.” He also described the state of America as “a nation in decline,” said the country is “going to hell” and that we are “watching our Republic DIE.”

What a motivating message from a man who wants to lead the U.S.

This set of charges is materially different from those brought by New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg surrounding allegations Trump violated campaign finance rules by paying off a porn star to cover up an affair.

As salacious as it is, that case just doesn’t have the gravitas as one accusing Trump of toying with America’s secrets. At the time, we excoriated Trump for his offensive and hyperbolic reaction to those charges (sound familiar?), but noted he may very well beat the charges in court.

Smith’s case, though, is a different animal. He’s apparently got tapes undercutting Trump’s entire public defense: that he magically wished those documents into declassified status upon leaving the White House. As fantastical as those claims have been, there’s been enough of a kernel of truth in there about the President’s declassification power to run a smokescreen for his supporters, who can’t dare imagine Trump may have done something wrong here.

But Friday, one day after reports of the charges broke, CNN dropped another bombshell, publishing a purported transcript of a previously reported discussion Trump had regarding a still-unclassified document he was describing to guests during a 2021 meeting.

Prior reports had generally described Trump as acting as if that document was still classified, thereby mucking up his contention that all documents in his possession had been declassified.

The new report details Trump calling the information in the document — about a potential strategy to attack Iran — as “secret” and “highly confidential.”

But then, the kicker. As Trump discussed the document, he admitted what most objective observers have known all along. “As President, I could have declassified, but now I can’t,” Trump said.

The former President and his team can crow all they want in public about how these documents weren’t really classified. But if this transcript is accurate, his lawyers are going to have a hard time doing the same in court. And all the kicking and screaming about how terrible this country is won’t help.

Also Friday, news broke that a top Trump aide is also facing charges over the document dust-up.

Trump’s supporters will smokescreen, diverting to Biden also holding government documents, even though the current President did not fight the federal government for more than a year over whether to turn them over, did not falsely admit he had turned them all over when he had not and, at least as far as we know now, didn’t parade those documents in front of guests.

If Trump boosters can’t grapple with admitting that perhaps he really is in the wrong here, maybe they’ll at least opt to move on from a guy who seemingly can’t stop shooting himself in the foot.