Drew Dixon
The Florida Democratic Party (FDP) is denouncing what it calls an “extreme” Republican Cabinet being assembled by President-elect Donald Trump as he prepares to take office in January.
Proposed Cabinet members from Florida include U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio for Secretary of State and U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz as National Security Adviser. Susie Wiles, the political advisor extraordinaire from Jacksonville and Trump’s 2024 Campaign Manager, has been named Chief of Staff for Trump’s White House operations. She wouldd be the first woman to ever hold that position.
But the latest proposed Cabinet appointment, with Trump announcing he would name U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz as Attorney General, made Florida Democrats snap.
“This is what it looks like to Make America Florida and it’s a living nightmare,” said FDP Chair Nikki Fried in a terse news release issued Wednesday afternoon.
“Donald Trump is raiding our state for any Florida Man loyal to him, no matter how incompetent, unqualified, or extreme they may be. Tapping Marco Rubio as Secretary of State and Mike Waltz as National Security Advisor is a serious cause for concern, but nominating Matt Gaetz as Attorney General is beyond catastrophic for the country.”
Trump is the ultimate “Florida Man” these days, as he has staked out his oversight of pending Cabinet appointments from his residence at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach County. There, he has been caucused with acolytes and visitors as he continues to rattle off his list of appointments ahead of his second term in the presidency.
Trump took a break from Florida Wednesday to visit Washington, D.C., where he met with President Joe Biden in the White House.
Still, Fried promised continued resistance from Florida Democrats and she said the party is only emboldened after the announcement of Gaetz, a rabid Trump loyalist from the Panhandle, as potential Attorney General.
“Matt Gaetz is a chaos agent who cares about nothing but his own personal power,” Fried said.
“He’s spent his eight years in Congress trying to burn our institutions to the ground — bringing us to the brink of multiple government shutdowns and constitutional crises along the way. As one of Trump’s most loyal lieutenants, he can’t be trusted to fairly and impartially run the Department of Justice, and I’m hopeful that the few remaining Senate Republicans who believe in our democracy will have the integrity to block this nomination.”
11 comments
SallyB
November 13, 2024 at 5:47 pm
Is Nikki Fried still the chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Florida? As one of Florida’s beneficiaries of the money from Big Sugar — Florida’s largest polluter — Nikki Fried failed the people of Florida as its one-term (won-and-done) Agriculture Commissioner. She has failed Florida Democrats as their party’s chairwoman. Florida Democrats need a new leader and spokeswoman unless Florida Democrats prefer to scream in the political wilderness, where Republicans hold all 4 Cabinet offices, including governor and attorney general, and supermajorities in both the Florida Senate and Florida House of Representatives. During this election season, Florida Democrats hoped to break the superminority status in the Florida Legislature. Guess what happened. They failed. They failed so much that Republican supermajorities in the Florida Legislature grew rather than contracted.
Michael
November 13, 2024 at 5:56 pm
I agree. Beyond that, why should any Democrat or NPA voter care what Republicans leave FL to become tools (double entendre intended) of Trump? Chances are slim any one of actually executes their position with integrity or dignity.
Billy Rotberg
November 13, 2024 at 7:19 pm
As if there weren’t any democrat “Tools”. Every party has them.
Red Storm
November 13, 2024 at 7:10 pm
Nikki Fried. I hope she is still employed by the Democratic Party of Florida. She has been the number one recruiter for the Republicans for years now. Keep it up Nikki. Oh and I am no fan of Gaetz.
Billy Rotberg
November 13, 2024 at 7:25 pm
Still better than having a Democrat in that position. That’s why Rick skeletor scott. (Also goes by bat boy) beat Senator Bill Nelson in 2018. Nelson was far worse, and that’s saying a lot. He was into banning all weapons while scott only banned bump stocks, created red flag laws and raised the age for buying guns. That’s why his margin of victory was lower than desantis. Those were the choices, SMH…
Ocean Joe
November 13, 2024 at 7:59 pm
So now the fake buyer’s remorse because Trump picks the least qualified guy for AG, a guy who mirrors his own morals. Hey, it’s your time to shine.
As for Nikki Fried, nobody is going to beat a numerical advantage the GOP holds in Florida except Father Time. Let’s worship our new king Donald. No more complaints, especially from folks who voted for him. But thanks for your fake concern about Dems.
Banning all weapons? You won, why keep the lies coming?
Let’s get on with ending all wars, inflation, mass deportations. Your savior promised it.
Red Storm
November 14, 2024 at 6:45 am
Ocean, I am no fan of Gaetz. I like all of Trump’s picks but this one. At one time I thought he was a rising star in the Republican Party, but his antics on removing Speaker McCarthy changed my views of him. He is a punk. I think he is going to have a difficult time getting confirmed.
Billy Rotberg
November 14, 2024 at 10:55 am
You really need to get some mental health treatment as you are clearly delusional. Ocean schmoe. You obviously failed to read the BAWN amendment from 2018. The verbiage essentially stated it would ban all guns, even bb guns. Trump is not my savior so your hyperbole is just another one of your pathetic lies. Get a grip for once in your sad. Miserable life, cultist.
PAY UP
November 14, 2024 at 7:33 pm
BILLY BOY, a punk’s punk like you has a lot of nerve criticizing others. what a loser. you’re the low info fool, not ocean joe. your dunning- kruger effect is glaring dude. you sound like an utter fool. pay up, you owe me for screwing my country up.
MarvinM
November 14, 2024 at 8:50 pm
Nelson was not far worse, in fact, if not for a crappy ballot design in Broward County, (and I think one other county) it is likely he would have won by at least the mere 10,033 votes that Scott won by.
Here’s the Governor’s race numbers:
DeSantis Gillum Other Total
49.59% 49.19% 1.22% 100%
4,076,186 4,043,723 99,062 8,218,971
And here’s the Senate race numbers:
Scott. Nelson Other. Total
50.05% 49.93% .02% 100%
4,099,505 4,089,472 1,638 8,190,615
Notice something weird?
28,356 less votes in the senate race than in the governor’s race.
About 25,000 of those were from Broward County.
I participated in the 2018 recount and I can tell you I saw ballot after ballot after ballot that left the senator race blank that had voted for Gillum. But the Senate race was in the first column under the instructions, the only race there, and people just missed it. It was too easy to miss.
Nelson’s 2018 loss had nothing to do with gun legislation.
MarvinM
November 14, 2024 at 8:54 pm
Sorry the numbers got all squished. I had them separated for readability before I posted but I guess this site doesn’t take the formatting.