Posted on 11/08/2023 10:05:51 AM PST by SoConPubbie
Republican Florida Gov. and 2024 presidential candidate Ron DeSantis’ biggest donor called him “dinner” for former President Donald Trump, who he said was a “bull” that he might start supporting instead, The Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
Nevada real estate guru and paranormal enthusiast Robert Bigelow has donated over $20 million to the DeSantis campaign for 2024, the largest donation for any current presidential candidate, according to FT. Bigelow has recently become dissatisfied with DeSantis and is now considering backing “streetwise” Trump instead.
“I’ve got to look at who would probably be the strongest commander, with the most experience,” Bigelow told FT. “And that’s only one guy.”
“Who would you want as a commander? I’d want somebody that would be a hell of an ass-kicker if he needed to be,” Bigelow said. “On the face of it, you lean toward Trump.”
Trump leads Desantis in national polling by over 40 points, according to a Nov. 7 Rear Clear Politics poll. Bigelow said he was growing confident that Trump would sweep the Republican nomination from his opponents – including DeSantis – so long as his legal troubles don’t hinder his chances, FT reported.
“I think Trump is too strong,” Bigelow said. “I think Trump has the momentum, the inertia, to beat him.”
Bigelow said he was initially drawn to DeSantis because he kept Florida’s economy relatively open during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and praised the state as the “land of the free.” He felt confident in DeSantis after having lunch with him in March and wrote his campaign a check for $20 million.
Bigelow grew skeptical of DeSantis after he passed a six-week abortion ban in April, according to FT. He publicly criticized DeSantis for the ban in August and expected a call from him after threatening to withhold further donations; DeSantis’ wife, Casey, called instead.
“Not having him bothering to call me for an explanation taught me that he’s more of a user of people, actually, and that I didn’t matter enough for him to pick up the phone,” Bigelow said.
Bigelow felt DeSantis was “way too focused on conservatism” compared to Trump’s socially moderate approach, according to FT. He also said that DeSantis seemed too hesitant to get involved in the skirmish of presidential elections.
“If he’s going to be in the gutter and you want to beat him, you better be willing and ready and able to go in the gutter too,” Bigelow said, referring to Trump. “You better be able to kill — and that’s not who Ron is.”
Bigelow’s comments come ahead of the third Republican primary debate on Nov. 8. Trump announced in August he would not attend any of the primary debates, saying it would be a waste of his time to go up against “people at 1% and 2%.”
The DeSantis campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Republished with permission from The Daily Caller News Foundation.
Did you see where Trump backed Cameron lost in Ky yesterday?
Reminds me of 2022.
Problem with letting a “Bull” loose is sometimes they do a lot of damage.
Is there a GOPe clown show tonight?
The bull that is Trump did us a lot of good. Our lives were better during his administration.
GOP backed Cameron lost to an incumbent. Trump tried to give him a boost. Thats called leadership. Thats what actual leaders do. They dont win every battle but they are there to fight every battle. Cant say the same for the Repukes who love to lose so they can say, “see, I told you so”. Trump or bust. BTW, why didn’t Christie, Haley or Desanctus even provide so much as a “Good Luck” to the Republican candidate?
The goal is to drive down viewership so just skip it.
I agree, I voted for him. I still defend him on that all the time.
Things change and I dont want Biden again as potus above Trump running and possibly losing again.
We can do well with a Desantis, another 4 years of Biden….I will be eating beans and rice everyday…..
Paranormal enthusiast Bigelow.
With a name like Bigelow, and the description, I am tempted to think of other “financial geniuses” with clever names.
Bernie Made-off with the money
Sam Bank-boy Fraud
Jon CorruptZine
Not saying Bigelow has done anything wrong.
Heck, the din du nuffin family is a big clan.
If I have to I will be writing in Trump. Trump or nothiing.
I am not interested in watching it. These debates only hurt candidates because the are run by leftists.
Every one of those candidates need to not show up. That makes a stand so that this useless embarrassment doesn’t happen again.
Plenty of bull on this forum that can sometimes do a lot of damage.
Hmmm. So the dwindling number of Trump worshippers claim that De Santis is backed by RINOS, yet at the same time, they suggest in some obscure publication that constantly obsesses on RDS, that a big RINO donor now wants to switch to Trump, who is somehow “streetwise” (in spite of getting multiple indictments from multiple dimwitted commie prosecutors lol).
Either way, this obscure internet gossip rag called the DC Inquirer is clearly infatuated with RDS.. At the bottom of the article, Trump lies, claiming that other candidates have only 1 and 2 percent as his reason for hiding from any debate.
Trump didn't lose.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.