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Trump Bashes DeSantis, Says Florida 'Continues to Tumble Into Complete and Total Delinquency and Destruction'
Red State ^ | 04/21/2023 | Jennifer Van Laar

Posted on 04/21/2023 8:40:19 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

Throughout the pandemic conservatives (and even disaffected Democrats and independents) vacationed in and moved to the “Free State of Florida” in record numbers, attracted to relatively affordable housing and, well, freedom. Donald Trump spends the vast majority of his time there, escaping the New York winters, over-taxation, and politically-motivated, unscrupulous prosecutors. But according to an email he sent out Friday, the state is a hellhole.

Atop the email was this statement from Steven Cheung, Trump’s campaign spokesman.

“The real DeSantis record is one of misery and despair. He has left a wake of destruction all across Florida and people are hurting because he has spent more time playing public relations games instead of actually doing the hard-work needed to improve the lives of the people he represents.”

Then the main portion of the email begins:

While Ron DeSantis engages in a weeks-long shadow campaign for president boasting his playbook, Florida continues to tumble into complete and total delinquency and destruction.

Thousands of people from places like New York, Michigan, Illinois, and California moved to Florida during the pandemic, many of them Republicans. Though the Miami area was hit with an unprecedented rain event last week and has been suffering from gas shortages as a result, it isn’t likely that those new Floridians will see that as a signal that the state is tumbling into “complete and total delinquency and destruction.” And, that characterization could lead to eyerolls from conservatives still stuck in places like San Francisco or Philadelphia or St. Louis that truly have tumbled into total delinquency and destruction.

Before listing numerous categories in which Florida resident Trump contends his state is the worst, he states:

On DeSantis’ watch, Florida has become one of the least affordable states to live in the country.

In his first term as Florida governor, Ron DeSantis raised taxes on Floridians by more than $1.5 billion.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that a Floridian making $10 an hour must work 86 hours per week just to afford rent on a modest single bedroom home in Florida.

The cost of living in south Florida shot up 10% in just the last year alone, the highest increase by far in years, while the national average was only 6.5%.

Home prices skyrocketed in Miami by 32% last year, and by 34% in Tampa.

According to a 2023 SmartAsset study, the Orlando metropolitan area was the 10th most expensive to live comfortably in the nation. Miami closely followed, as the 12th most expensive metropolitan area and Tampa also made the list, as the 16th most expensive.

Then, he hits DeSantis on high gas prices and recent shortages in Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

While nearly half of the gas stations in Miami and Fort Lauderdale are without fuel, those Floridians lucky enough to find a gas station with fuel will be paying a stiff premium.

Florida ranks in the 10 most expensive states in the continental United States for fuel prices, and in 2023, Florida imposed a new hike on fuel purchases.

I haven’t clicked every link and read every piece of data the email links to as backup (and at least one Substack linked to is down, probably because of the amount of traffic directed to it), so I make no assessment of the claims. The link to the justification for the claim of a massive tax hike doesn’t work, but I am especially interested in reading more about that because it’s at odds with things DeSantis says in his speeches.

Undoubtedly, Ron DeSantis’ spokespeople will have rebuttals of the email’s contents. I’ll preview what I think they might be.

First, Trump has praised DeSantis over the years, and since leaving office has talked about about how great it was to live in Florida and specifically praised DeSantis.

Second, given the number of people who moved to Florida in the past three years – some of them sent there by their employers who left California – it’s reasonable to see home prices increase rapidly and not anything any government official has much control over. And DeSantis supporters will likely point to the fact that Trump didn’t stand up to Fauci and Birx and blue state governors who kept millions of Americans under unjustified and ineffective “state of emergency” orders, which arguably contributed a great deal to the exodus to Florida and the resulting price increases.

Third, the fuel shortages in the Miami area are due to severe flooding at terminals at Port Everglades and, according to officials, panic buying is exacerbating the problem. Still, State of Florida emergency officials on Tuesday announced that they’re sending 500,000 gallons of gasoline to ease the pain, and said that delivery delays continue to decrease.

The point of me listing these anticipated defenses isn’t to prop up DeSantis or to slam Trump. Especially with this week’s revelations regarding whistleblowers and election interference and Alvin Bragg, Trump has solid arguments to make to Republican primary voters about why he should be the 2024 nominee. Choosing to send a melodramatic email telling Floridians and all of the people who moved there during the pandemic how terrible their home state is, using some fairly easily disputed points, doesn’t seem like the best tactic.



TOPICS: Business/Economy; Politics; Society
KEYWORDS: 1desantis2024; 2024; baghdadcheung; cheunglies; chollycheing; desanctimonious; desantis; election2024; firehim; fl; flalandofliberty; florida; floridarocks; isthisthebesthehas; lmaotrump; losingstrategy; miserablemanager; operationwarpspeed; poorcampaigneader; pornstarpayoffs; pornstars; sickofliars; sillytalk; tiredofityet; trump; trump2024; trumpbeingtrump
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To: SpaceBar

Just sometimes? Trump doesn’t know when to shut up.

I’ve been thinking of sending money to DeSantis every time I read of a new attack on DeSantis by Trump. I think I’ll be broke if I start doing that, though.


41 posted on 04/21/2023 9:54:43 PM PDT by psjones (u)
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To: Just mythoughts

All of this is beyond repair no mater who is president now, that’s why I hope last long enough to see the 7th Trump. Now that will be bigtime shock and awe’ for all those who are corrupt. I want to see the squirming and the look on their faces when it happens.


42 posted on 04/21/2023 9:59:39 PM PDT by Karl Spooner
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To: SeekAndFind

I like Trump and I like his policies. But his attacking Republicans and DeSantis in particular is stupid. It just shows his continued inability to surround himself with quality people that can successfully advise him.


43 posted on 04/21/2023 10:07:59 PM PDT by VeniVidiVici (Guns don't kill people, Democrats do. )
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To: SeekAndFind

I can’t assign any credibility, if Trump is indeed saying these things.


44 posted on 04/21/2023 10:12:05 PM PDT by citizen (Put all LBQTwhatever programming on a new subscription service: PERV-TV)
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To: Dilbert San Diego

I watched the full Tim Pool/ Ramaswamy podcast today and learned some new things about DeSantis. He may have done some good things for Florida but he is a phony. A typical politician.


45 posted on 04/21/2023 10:22:00 PM PDT by libh8er
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To: libh8er

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt0s3OAdCVo


46 posted on 04/21/2023 10:23:23 PM PDT by libh8er
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To: Dilbert San Diego

I’m a Trump supporter and think he should focus on Biden. If Ron runs, he proved himself a liar for saying twice he wasn’t going to run. If he didn’t want to be governor, he shouldn’t have run for it


47 posted on 04/21/2023 10:29:41 PM PDT by roving (👌⚓)
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To: psjones

Ron wants the J6 protesters in prison. I assume you do too


48 posted on 04/21/2023 10:32:08 PM PDT by roving (👌⚓)
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To: wiseprince

If DeSantis beats him, will he say it was rigged and run third party out of spite?


49 posted on 04/21/2023 10:36:28 PM PDT by Trump20162020
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To: Karl Spooner

All will see the seventh Trump… the good, the bad and the ugly.. end of flesh age dimension.


50 posted on 04/21/2023 10:56:05 PM PDT by Just mythoughts (Psalm 2. Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?)
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To: SeekAndFind

Sigh. Is Trump expecting us all to be ignorant to supply and demand? We’re smart enough to know that Trump. Come on. Attack BIDEN! There is more than enough targets there.
Crap!


51 posted on 04/21/2023 11:06:28 PM PDT by vpintheak (Live free, or die!)
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To: Dilbert San Diego

Yes. Many have attacked me and pretty much told me that. “Trump has all the right friends, and DeSantis has all the wrong ones.” Supposedly.
It’s so completely asinine, I cannot believe it. Digging up crap, garbage, and lies, just for the left to store away for future use against DeSantis.
I’ll support Trump if he’s the nominee, but this garbage needs to stop. Mind-numbing stupidity.


52 posted on 04/21/2023 11:09:28 PM PDT by vpintheak (Live free, or die!)
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Comment #53 Removed by Moderator

To: SeekAndFind

Trump may as well run as a Democrat at this point.

Trump’s support of the left keeps increasing.


54 posted on 04/21/2023 11:25:34 PM PDT by Erik Latranyi (This is the end of the Republic....because we could not keep it.)
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To: struggle

If DeSantis is our nominee, Trump just made a campaign ad for the Biden team.

“Even Donald Trump has said Florida is tumbling into complete and total delinquency and destruction”


55 posted on 04/21/2023 11:32:52 PM PDT by Erik Latranyi (This is the end of the Republic....because we could not keep it.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Trump really needs to stop listening to family members, I’m pretty sure thats where he gets most of his bad advice.


56 posted on 04/22/2023 12:08:12 AM PDT by TonyM (Score Event)
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To: SeekAndFind

I’m sure we will find out if what Trump says about DeSantis is true and what other skeletons are in DeSantis’s closet if he does win the primary. The democrats will be a lot nastier than Trump with their constant false accusations. Trust me, the Soros funded democrat party already has done plenty of opposition research on DeSantis and will sit on it until a week before the election and regardless if its a lie the brain dead American voters will believe whatever the media tells them at least long enough to let the left steal the election. At least Trump has been thru the ringer and voters are on to and tired of the obvious lies about Trump. But they would believe most anything about DeSantis.


57 posted on 04/22/2023 12:32:16 AM PDT by TonyM (Score Event)
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To: SeekAndFind

The only ones happy to see these statements from Trump are dems and other lefties-Geez I’m a Trump supporter but he is really setting himself and us up to lose-independnt women hate this petty stuff and it is not even fact based-it may not matter as VBM, vote by mail is the #1 issue, 1 month of voting for lefties an 1 day for us-instead of tackling this my guy Trump as spent his energy attacking the most successful gov in the country-why because he is afraid he might get the nomination


58 posted on 04/22/2023 12:44:20 AM PDT by TECTopcat
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To: libh8er; V K Lee

Thanks for this link to Tim Pool’s interview with the Indian guy running for President. Very cool interview. Just saw the first 10 minutes and I may watch the whole 2 hours.


59 posted on 04/22/2023 12:52:04 AM PDT by poconopundit (Hard oak fist in an Irish velvet glove: Kayleigh the Shillelagh we salute your work!)
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To: nickcarraway
What Trump is angry at Florida about is the successfully stopped the steal there.

The Dems didn't need Florida to install Biden in the White House, and they let DeSantis win in 2022 assuming that he would go after Trump in 2024.

60 posted on 04/22/2023 1:17:10 AM PDT by Fresh Wind (Soros on assisting Nazis with the Holocaust: "That's when my character was made.")
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