The inaugural face -to-face encounter between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis in Florida didn’t yield the outcome that the Republican governor and his supporters had hoped for.
In the lead-up to Saturday’s “Florida Freedom Summit,” where both GOP presidential contenders addressed an audience of over 1,000 Florida Republican activists, state and federal legislators, and dedicated party members, Trump and his supporters effectively outmaneuvered DeSantis. This event marked a significant moment, as it was the first time the two shared the same stage on the same day in Florida since DeSantis declared his candidacy in May.
which included a handful of GOP state legislators flipping their endorsements Saturday from DeSantis to Trump — reinforced the notion that DeSantis may be locked into an unwinnable contest against the man who helped him win the governor’s mansion just five years ago.
“This race is over, and people are basically trying to decide whether they want to join the winning team,” said state Sen. Joe Gruters, a Sarasota Republican and staunch Trump supporter.
That Trump is besting DeSantis in his home state is light-years from the governor’s moment of triumph just one year ago, when he won a resounding reelection victory and was one of the brightest Republican stars in the nation. The inaugural face
Since then, DeSantis has failed to live up to the high expectations set for him. Trump continues to dominate the GOP field, with national and early state polling showing Trump ahead by wide margins and DeSantis’ numbers mostly declining.
DeSantis never said Trump’s name during his remarks in the middle of the day, other than joking about how he didn’t need a teleprompter and alluding to “some Republicans” who opposed his Covid policies.
DeSantis for months has criticized Trump for relying too heavily on Anthony Fauci during the pandemic, and in recent days he piled on Trump — who typically jumps from one topic to another when he speaks — for using a teleprompter.
One top campaign aide to DeSantis downplayed the attention that Trump and his camp have placed on Florida in the past week which also saw Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) officially endorse Trump just days before the big GOP gathering.