Free Republic

DOYLESTOWN, Pennsylvania—Richard Tems was about as loyal a Trump supporter as you can get. The Bucks County businessman and GOP committeeman has fiercely defended former President Donald Trump in editorials, interviews with reporters, and conversations with anyone within earshot. He voted for Trump twice and believed he was the right president at the right time. However, eight years after the New York businessman and entertainer came down the escalator in Trump Tower in June 2015, Tems said he would move on in next year’s Pennsylvania primary. He plans to vote instead for Governor Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., for the Republican nomination...

A polished Carroll, 79, showed up to the federal courthouse flanked by lawyers and wearing a cream-colored coat, sunglasses and carrying a maroon briefcase as her supporters chanted “We believe E. Jean Carroll.” Trump, 76, was not present.A jury of six men and three women had been chosen by early afternoon — but not before a pool of 48 prospects were grilled by the judge, including about their political leanings. The potential jurors were asked a multitude of questions, such as whether they had any affiliation with groups including QAnon, the Ku Klux Klan, the Proud Boys and other far-right...

A super PAC supporting a potential White House bid from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Saturday it will financially support former President Donald Trump's move to California — just one day after the GOP 2024 front runner took aim at the Sunshine State's leadership and called it the "worst state." "Donald Trump has so deeply disparaged the state of Florida by calling it the ‘worst state,’ we at Never Back Down will help him leave by offering financial assistance to help him move to his beloved California, so he can be close to his good buddy Gavin Newsom, whom he...

A federal judge who will oversee Donald Trump’s sexual assault civil trial in Manhattan says the former president is free to skip attending the trial — but that he cannot claim he did so to avoid “burdens” on the city that his presence in court might cause. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan set the ground rules in an order Thursday in response to a request by Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina that jurors be instructed that Trump didn’t attend in order to avoid “logistical burdens.” In proposed jury instructions submitted Wednesday, Tacopina requested that the judge tell panelists: “While...

A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll finds that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis now leads former President Donald Trump by 5 percentage points in the race for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. Trump previously led DeSantis by double-digit margins among registered voters who describe themselves as Republicans or Republican-leaning independents. Meanwhile, DeSantis is ahead by even more — a whopping 11 points — among Americans who say they voted in a 2016 Republican primary or caucus in their state. The poll of 1,635 U.S. adults, which was conducted from Dec. 1 to 5, is one of the first to confirm how far...

The delay in counting votes isn’t the only concerning thing about Nevada’s elections. Clark County officials accepted my signature on six mail-ballot return envelopes. For the past two elections, Nevada sent mail ballots to all registered voters, unless they opted out. That means around 1.8 million ballots went out. Well more than 1 million won’t be returned. Previously, a voter could request an absentee ballot for any reason. That’s more secure because ballots went only to those wanting to vote by mail. With that many ballots floating around, there are obvious security concerns — it’s much easier to get ahold...

Suffolk University has a new poll out, including a question on Republican voter preferences for the 2024 presidential election, and while it is noteworthy that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is within 9 points of former President Donald Trump at 43%-34%, what is more striking is how little support the other possible candidates get. Vice President Mike Pence is at 7%, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WV) at 3%, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 1%. Contrast DeSantis’s strong second-place rank to where Republicans were at this point in August 2015. Trump was in front at 22%, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush...

The concept of America First embodies the American people’s aspirational goals to see policies that primarily benefit them, especially in an era when it feels as if they are being overshadowed by special-interest groups, corporate lobbyists and foreign agendas. It’s undoubtedly linked with President Donald Trump, but the question remains for the 2024 election: Can this idea thrive with someone else’s leadership?

Ahead of the rally former President Donald Trump was scheduled to have in Arizona (later postponed due to the death of Ivana Trump), the Fox News website posted a stunning three-minute video featuring a host of Trump supporters in Maricopa County talking about ditching him in 2024 for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL). The incredible montage features a group of Arizona voters who — save for one identified as Beverly who enthusiastically backed a Trump 2024 bid — all said they wanted to see Trump sit it out next time and identified DeSantis as the person they want to take over...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — When coronavirus vaccines for infants and young children were authorized for the first time last month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned parents against the “baby jabs,” saying regulators had done insufficient testing and trials. Still, he said he wouldn’t stand in parents’ way if they chose to vaccinate their kids. “You are free to choose,” he assured them. Florida parents say it hasn’t turned out that way

Way right Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday claimed he has “woke math’s” number, and he doesn’t like it. He railed about the mysterious mathematics Friday in a speech in Tampa to a group of conservative Moms for Liberty who are opposed to several aspects of education. DeSantis was unable to elucidate exactly what “woke math’ is. He indicated that it’s math with little regard for correct calculations, which was news to the world. “I’m just thinking to myself like, 2 + 2 equals 4. It’s not 2 + 2 equals: Well how do you feel about that? Is...

TAMPA, Fla. -- Before a friendly audience of conservative moms, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday excoriated political opponents of wanting to “sexualize” children and warp kids’ understanding of race and history. The charged campaign rhetoric in remarks to the Moms for Liberty group was usual fare for DeSantis — and a major reason why he’s in the top tier of potential GOP presidential candidates who now sits on an unprecedented $130 million war chest. But the political backdrop was as atypical as unexpected: The day before his speech, one of the national teacher unions that opposes him released a...

With more than one million reported COVID-19 deaths and enormous collateral damage to public health, education, and the economy, our pandemic response was a disaster. Yet some House Democrats are now defending the Trump administration officials responsible for initiating those misguided policies. Two Trump-appointed officials—former CDC director Robert Redfield and White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx—formally directed the federal response from the start of the pandemic through January 2021. They adopted lockdowns, including school and business closures, as the centerpiece of the national coronavirus response. In a recent report, Democrats on the Congressional Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus...

Ron DeSantis is the clear winner over Donald Trump among Florida Republicans when asked who they would like as the GOP presidential nomination 2024, according to a poll. The survey, conducted by Blueprint Polling, found 50.9 percent of those asked back or lean towards the Florida governor, with the former president behind on 38.6 percent.

The 30-second spot scheduled to air on Fox News starting Monday takes shots at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his policies, while drawing a contrast with California.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has closed the gap significantly between himself and Donald Trump in a hypothetical matchup in 2024, bringing him within single digits of the former president. Among registered Republican voters, about 45% said they would vote for Trump compared to 36% who leaned toward DeSantis, according to the most recent YouGov/Yahoo News poll, a 9-point difference and the closest any challenger has ever gotten to the former president in a GOP primary poll. The most recent numbers tighten previous polls that showed DeSantis trailing by 16 points in February and 23 points the month before that.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is within single digits of ex-President Donald Trump in a new national poll, the closest he’s been in this or any other reputable poll — and that’s before Tuesday’s bombshell testimony. A sample of Republican and Republican-leaning respondents to a new Yahoo! News/YouGov poll were asked “Who would you rather see as the Republican nominee for President in 2024?” and given a choice between Trump and DeSantis. Among registered voters, 45 percent prefer Trump, while 36 percent prefer DeSantis — a nine-point difference that normally wouldn’t seem very close. But for Trump, in a reputable Republican...

Joe Rogan is jumping on board the Ron DeSantis for President train. On Tuesday’s episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, he spoke with Daily Wire actress Gina Carano about the state of the country. “So all this stuff is happening while we have a dead man as a president,” Rogan said while referring to President Joe Biden. “Are you throwing out any support towards anyone or are you gonna hold off?” Carano asked regarding the 2024 elections. “Didn’t Elon Musk, come out recently for DeSantis?” “I think Ron DeSantis would work as a good president,” Rogan replied. “I mean, what...

Based on a casual reading of the polls, Donald Trump looks to have smooth sailing to the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 and the chance to erase the stink of losing to Joe Biden that he so covets. But if that’s the case, why does Trump seem so panicky these days? Simple: Trump is in trouble, and — when you dig into the numbers — his grip on the GOP nomination is getting more tenuous. It is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) who has all the momentum.

DURHAM, N.H. – A public opinion survey in New Hampshire, the state that for a century has held the first primary in presidential race, indicates that Florida Gov. Gov. Ron DeSantis has a razor-thin margin over former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical 2024 GOP primary match-up. According to polling numbers released on Wednesday by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, 39% of likely Republican primary voters in the Granite State would support the first-term Florida governor, with 37% backing the former president. Respondents were provided a list of potential contenders for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, and DeSantis...