Free Republic

The 2024 Republican primary is over. Donald Trump will be the nominee, so all attention turns to his running mate. Who will it be? Earlier this month, Trump heavily insinuated that he’d already made his decision but will reveal it later. Like The Apprentice, it’s all about the show, but there are some concerns that he might pick Nikki Haley, who still hasn’t dropped out of her quixotic campaign for the Republican nomination. Trump seems to have ruled her out, calling her a person not made of “presidential timber.”The media has their list, including Vivek Ramaswamy, Tim Scott, Elise Stefanik,...

Former President Donald Trump is facing a backlash after calling one of the most conservative members of Congress a RINO who should be primaried—one week after the filing deadline. Trump blasted Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, on Truth Social after the congressman endorsed Trump’s rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, for president. “Has any smart and energetic Republican in the Great State of Texas decided to run in the Primary against RINO Congressman Chip Roy,” Trump wrote. “For the right person, he is very beatable. If interested, let me know!!!” Trump’s comments appeared to...

Jeff Roe, a top strategist for the main super PAC supporting Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign, announced his resignation from the group late Saturday — the latest in a string of departures from the organization.The pro-DeSantis group, Never Back Down, has been enveloped in turmoil in recent weeks. Two weeks ago, it fired three of its top officials, including the super PAC’s chief executive officer. The board chairman, former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, also left, as did the organization’s president, Chris Jankowski.Republican strategist Phil Cox, a longtime DeSantis ally and adviser, has stepped in to help steer the PAC in...

Former President Trump is now over the magic 50 percent mark in Iowa, per the latest Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll — a poll with more producers than a Bruce Willis direct-to-video movie.Since an October poll, The Donald has jumped eight full points, from 43 percent to his current standing of 51 percent.Second place Ron DeSantis is 32 whole points behind Trump with just 19 percent support.And the latest media hoax, known as NikkiHaleyMentum, has just been debunked. The former South Carolina governor and United Nations representative sits in third place with just 16 percent support — or 35...

Sen. Ted Cruz hinted that he may be running for president again in the future and said not to count Gov. Ron DeSantis out of the presidential race. 'When I ran in 2016, the most fun I've ever had in my life. And we came incredibly close to winning,' he told DailyMail.com in an interview. While Trump is far ahead in the polls, Cruz predicted the race is still up for grabs.

A leading Iowa Evangelical activist believes that the critical state caucuses are "tailor-made" for an upset with a Republican field that is "wide-open," saying that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has run a strong ground game as former President Donald Trump dominates the polls.As Republican presidential hopefuls focus on wooing conservatives in Iowa, Bob Vander Plaats, the president of the Iowa-based advocacy group The FAMiLY Leader, discussed the state of the race in The Hawkeye State in an interview with The Christian Post.Vander Plaats takes an active role in the primary campaign by interacting with the candidates and hosting the FAMiLY...

Flyers claiming that Melania Trump is “missing” along with a phone number for the Mar-a-Lago Security Office have been scattered around the Iowa versus Iowa State football game that former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are attending. The security office said that no one else had called about the flyers and that they were unaware of them on Saturday afternoon.“WHERE IS THIS WOMAN???” the flyers read, with a photo of Melania Trump. “WHERE IS OUR FIRST LADY? WHY IS DONALD TRUMP HIDING HER? WE MISS HER.”The flyer then provided the phone number for the Mar-a-Lago security office...

So, I’m having a friendly debate with somebody about this “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!” post by Mr. Trump…My friend, a retired police officer, is a great guy, salt of the earth, etc. He thinks it’s an understandable representation of Trump’s frustration. And maybe it is. But the question remains, did Trump’s attorneys have the chance to see that post before he pushed “send”? Did anybody above the age of 14? Does anybody honestly think had his attorneys seen it, they’d have said, “Yes, Mr. President, we think that’s a really swell post; put that jazz...

If former president Donald Trump’s case ever makes it to court, federal prosecutors will use his own words against him — spoken on national TV to Fox News host Bret Baier on Monday. I’m not a lawyer. I don’t even play one on internet video. So when it comes to stories like this one, there are a few people I turn to for sharp analysis and good advice. On the surface at least, what Trump said could cause him trouble in court. When Baier asked, “Why not just hand [the documents] over then?” Trump replied, “Because I had boxes —...

…. “There are Trillions at Stake!” Overall, the New York Times is reporting a campaign support spending plan of more than $200 million. Essentially, these are payments from the billionaire Wall Street donors and multinationals, funneled through the SuperPAC, to influence the ’24 election. The context of the New York Times report sounds accurate. NYT – A key political group supporting Ron DeSantis’s presidential run is preparing a $100 million voter-outreach push so big it plans to knock on the door of every possible DeSantis voter at least four times in New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — and five...

A super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' presidential run has raised $500,000 into a separate draft committee that is expected to be transferred directly to his campaign in the coming days The group, "Never Back Down" has been encouraging donors to contribute online to the "Draft DeSantis 2024 Fund," a super PAC created in early March to house money from DeSantis donors until his campaign launch. Super PACs can raise unlimited funds, but they are generally considered expenditure-only, meaning they cannot contribute directly to a candidate. Campaign finance experts called the move "unprecedented" and had mixed reactions on if...

DeSantis 101May 25, 2023 | Sundance | 74 CommentsNow that the people who created, manage and construct the branding for Ron DeSantis have finally made the admission to push their puppet into the 2024 race, we should probably talk about what the person representing their quest is all about.First, the obvious. Notice how the managers will not allow Ron DeSantis to hold a public campaign event in Florida? This is a tenuous time for them, and they cannot allow the optics of DeSantis being protested by Republicans in his home state to undermine their effort. DeSantis must be shielded in...

Ahead of Gov. Ron DeSantis' anticipated announcement this week, a GOP mega-donor is throwing his support toward the Florida Republican instead of former President Donald Trump. Point Bridge Capital founder Hal Lambert explained in a FOX Business exclusive interview why he believes it's "time [for the Republican Party] to move on" to younger leadership. "There's a number of reasons," Lambert said on "Cavuto: Coast to Coast" on Tuesday. "One, Donald Trump can only serve one term. He'll effectively be a lame duck almost on day one, if he were to win. But I don't think he can win the general...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is notorious for running a top-down operation, consulting on key matters with only a small, select group, including his wife. But as he tries to launch a presidential campaign amid weeks of bad headlines, flagging poll numbers and donors’ threatening to jump ship, his campaign-in-waiting is acknowledging that the closed-off practice isn’t working so well. Behind the scenes, aides are reassuring supporters that DeSantis’ circle of advisers is expanding to add more operatives with presidential campaign experience — and that DeSantis is listening to them, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter. “Before,...

In late April, Juliet Harvey-Bolia, a Republican New Hampshire state representative, was one of dozens of elected officials whose endorsements former President Donald Trump announced at a packed rally in Manchester. On Tuesday, officials at Never Back Down, the super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, said Harvey-Bolia is throwing her support to their guy. She is one of four New Hampshire legislators — the others are Reps. Brian Cole, Lisa Smart and Debra DiSimone — whom Never Back Down identified as flipping from Trump to DeSantis as it rolled out endorsements from 51 lawmakers in the state who signed...

The #DeSantis2024 role play is over pic.twitter.com/SRGKJyatCZ— miguelifornia (@miguelifornia) May 16, 2023

When I pressed him on why DeSantis seems so publicly fixated on the MAGA wing of the GOP, Cox was charitable. “It’s a really tough party right now,” he said. “No one else has figured out how to unify and bring the party together. [DeSantis] has clearly made the calculation he needs to be a good alternative for Trump diehard voters out there.” The assumption, other top Republicans say, is that more moderate Republicans like Cox will fall in line with DeSantis because the alternative is Trump. I’m less convinced of that, at least for now. DeSantis may have to...

Donald Trump was found liable of sexual abuse and defamation yesterday in a civil case brought against him by columnist E. Jean Carroll. The former president has been ordered to pay roughly $5m in compensatory and punitive damages. Trump has indicated he will appeal the verdict.As information collected in the Just Security Litigation Tracker and expanded on by Statista's Martin Armstrong shows, when looking at cases brought over the last couple of years, this is the second verdict going against Trump and his organizations or affiliates.In January, the Trump Organization was sentenced to pay $1.6 million in fines for a...

Next week, DeSantis will resume his political travel in the next week with visits to Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. [cut] Speculation about an official kickoff date has been rampant, covering much of the calendar between now and July-4 with potential locations ranging from his childhood hometown of Dunedin, Florida, to somewhere along the Rust Belt where his parents are from. [cut] The circle has expanded out of necessity as DeSantis builds out a nationwide campaign. Never Back Down, a super PAC expected to play an outsized role boosting DeSantis, has beefed up its staff and is already raising money and...