DeSantis Takes Veiled Swipe at the Trumpian GOP’s ‘Culture of Losing’ During Iowa Campaign Swing

Gov. Ron DeSantis not-so-subtly decried the “culture of losing” that’s overtaken the Republican Party under former President Donald Trump’s leadership during an Iowa campaign swing.

Summary

Gov. Ron DeSantis not-so-subtly decried the “culture of losing” that’s overtaken the Republican Party under former President Donald Trump’s leadership during an Iowa campaign swing. The former Florida Governor is preparing to launch his White House bid within weeks after months of blistering and nasty personal attacks from the GOP frontrunner.

• “We must reject the culture of losing that has impacted our party in recent years. The time for excuses is over,” DeSantis told voters at an Iowa event. “If we get distracted, if we focus the election on the past or on other side issues, then I think the Democrats are going to beat us again.”
• Ahead of his trip, the pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down unveiled 37 endorsements from Iowa lawmakers, including Senate President Amy Sinclair and House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl. The endorsements represent more than 1/3^rd of Iowa’s GOP lawmakers and is “the largest number of endorsements from Iowa legislators at this stage of a GOP primary in modern memory,” according to Never Back Down.
• DeSantis used the trip to make personal connections with voters to dispel the narrative that he’s socially awkward or – as Trump put it – is in need of a “personality transplant.” Additionally, he met with some of Iowa’s top Republican leaders to build the relationships he’d need to win the caucuses next year.
• Trump cancelled a Saturday evening rally in Des Moines that would’ve set up a split-screen between him and DeSantis “due to the Tornado Warnings.” DeSantis, 44, seized the opportunity and made unscheduled stops near where Trump’s rally would’ve been to set up a contrast with his 76-year-old rival.
• Trump pushed back on DeSantis’ comments in a Monday interview with The Messenger. “Ron is not a winner,” the 1-term president said of the 2-term governor. “First of all, I’m not at all caught up in the past. And second of all, I’m doing much better against [President] Biden than he is in the polls, and I’m doing much better against him,” Trump added.

• The New York Times reported DeSantis showed in Iowa “the aggressive political instincts that his allies have long insisted he would demonstrate in a contest against former President Donald J. Trump.” DeSantis also turned the tables on Trump because Trump “had also so lowered the bar for Mr. DeSantis’s first outing with weeks of merciless mocking that by merely showing up and not committing any significant gaffes with crowds that were eager to check him out, he fared well.”
• Politico’s Jonathan Martin provided behind-the-scenes coverage of the “DeSantis braintrust” and how they plan to take on the former president. Martin wrote, “They’re convinced of that from their extensive internal polling and the gusher of money they predict will come when DeSantis enters the race. The sheer incoming they’re fielding from donors, activists and well-wishers tells a very different story from the one that comes with each week’s spate of Trump-lead-grows national surveys.”
• The Washington Post noted “DeSantis’s ability to engage up-close with voters and go off-script was under intense scrutiny Saturday as participated in the traditional circuit of campaigning in a state where individual interactions are valued. He mingled with VIPs at a private reception. He greeted voters — this time not separated from the crowd by bike racks, which appeared at his Iowa events earlier this year.”

• The Wall Street Journal reported DeSantis’ extensive Iowa campaigning underlines how critical the Hawkeye State will be for his presidential ambitions. John McCormick and Alex Leary wrote, “While polls suggest Mr. Trump is in a dominant position, the reality on the ground in Iowa is more complex, with many Republicans saying they are searching for an alternative.”
• Fox News covered Trump’s attacks on DeSantis’ pro-life bona fides – from the left. Trump condemned the 6-week abortion ban DeSantis signed into law as “too harsh” in a recent interview but refused to take a stance on what was once the most important issue for social conservatives. Trump said “I’m a believer in the exceptions” but refused to say at what point in the pregnancy abortion should be restricted – if at all.
• National Review’s Dan McLaughlin contrasted how Trump and DeSantis would act as leader of the Republican Party because “politics is a team sport.” The two’s recent actions have shown “DeSantis has been hard at work sharing the wealth, putting his time and prestige in the service of helping other Republicans, while Trump continues to drain resources from the rest of the party in service of his own personal ambitions.”

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© Dominic Moore, 2023