Trump says FL Gov Ron Desantis is a Pedophile

[Nickdfresh]

Well, Trump Is Now Suggesting Ron DeSantis Is a Pedophile
The 2024 Republican primary isn't going to get ugly — it already is

BY RYAN BORT

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

Former President Donald Trump on Jan. 28, 2023 in Salem, New Hampshire. SCOTT EISEN/GETTY IMAGES
DONALD TRUMP RECENTLY has been ramping up his attacks on Ron DeSantis ahead of a potential 2024 Republican primary showdown. We’re not going to lie, we figured it take the former president a least a few more months before he started accusing the Florida governor of pedophilia.

Trump has been doing just that on Tuesday, though, sharing a few posts on Truth Social purporting to show DeSantis “grooming high school girls with alcohol as a teacher.”

“That’s not Ron, is it?” Trump wrote, sarcastically. “He would never do such a thing!”

The New York Times reported last year on DeSantis’ time as a teacher at the Darlington School in northwest Georgia. The report notes that several students described DeSantis as “a frequent presence at parties” with seniors at the school. “As an 18-year-old, I remember thinking, ‘What are you doing here, dude?’” one former student told the Times.

The photo Trump shared on Tuesday was originally published in 2021 by a Democratic blog called The Hill Reporter, which noted that the girls in the photo were seniors when it was taken in 2002.

Trump’s line of attack comes as DeSantis seeks to establish himself as the Republican Party’s leading culture warrior, in part by stoking fear over pedophiles and groomers. The governor’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which prohibits the discussion of gender identity in lower grades of Florida public schools, was widely marketed as an anti-groomer bill, the idea being that educators had been “grooming” young children for sex. DeSantis’ press secretary, Christina Pushaw, last year accused opponents of the then-bill of being groomers themselves, and right-wing activists quickly descended on Disney after the company came out against the legislation. DeSantis is still trying to punish Disney for doing so.

Trump’s Truth Social posts on Tuesday come amid a torrent of attacks against the governor. The former president has recently called DeSantis a “globalist” and a friend to Jeb Bush, while accusing him to bowing to pressure to implement Covid-19 mitigation measures toward the beginning of the pandemic. He’s also whined that DeSantis should be loyal considering it was Trump’s endorsement that helped him win his 2018 gubernatorial run. “Ron DeSantis got elected because of me. He had nothing. He was dead. He was leaving the race. He came over and he begged me. He begged me,” Trump told Hugh Hewitt last week. “He said if you endorse me I’ll win. There were tears coming down from his eyes. He said if you endorse me I’ll win.”

https://www.rollingstone.com/politic...le-1234675596/

[FORD]

Projection much, Cheeto??

[Terry]

Which Trump always forgets to mention, in that he barely pulled DeSantis across the finish line in 2018 - by less than a percentage point if I recall - and this was while Trump was the POTUS and was actively campaigning for him in Florida. Yeah, a win is a win, but Trump endorsing DeSantis in 2018 wasn't the basis for a massive landslide victory.

DeSantis won he re-election by...was it nearly 20 percentage points? And this was 2 years after Trump was failed to be re-elected.

So, if the charge of grooming teens is false, Trump looks like a desperate candidate clutching at straws. If the charge is true, Trump endorsed a groomer with intent to diddle...although I suppose after Roy Moore, such an endorsement should have been presumed to be safely within Trump's wheelhouse.

[Seshmeister]

So Trumps friend who he endorsed is a pedophile? This is Prince Andrew all over again so I guess Trump will be cancelled.

[ZahZoo]

If Trump is making these claims... he's cancelling himself.

[Seshmeister]

If as seems likely there are 5 or 10 Republican candidates then he can get the nomination with only say 25% of the vote. Seems to me that it's very likely to happen unless some deals are done and only 1 or 2 run against him.

Meanwhile over half of Democrats polled don't want Biden to stand and he is going to.

So very likely you will get to choose between two candidates most people really don't want. Again.

[ZahZoo]

I wouldn't put too high of expectations of Trump succeeding in a 3rd run. His popularity has been shrinking considerably and has little support within the Republican mainstream.

The recent message his former Press Secretary and our current Governor was very on-point... It's time for a new generation of leadership. That's really resonating with a wide majority of Republicans and Independents.

[Terry]

I wouldn't put too high of expectations of Trump succeeding in a 3rd run. His popularity has been shrinking considerably and has little support within the Republican mainstream.

The recent message his former Press Secretary and our current Governor was very on-point... It's time for a new generation of leadership. That's really resonating with a wide majority of Republicans and Independents.

I don't, for all the reasons you mentioned.

Still, he won once and in terms of the Electoral College he was very competitive in the states that counted in 2020.

2 years ago, 70 million + people voted for him, so as of right now I'd have to say he's still in the game.

[Nickdfresh]

If as seems likely there are 5 or 10 Republican candidates then he can get the nomination with only say 25% of the vote. Seems to me that it's very likely to happen unless some deals are done and only 1 or 2 run against him.

Meanwhile over half of Democrats polled don't want Biden to stand and he is going to.

So very likely you will get to choose between two candidates most people really don't want. Again.

The President of the Nursing Home Association of Residents...

[ZahZoo]

I don't, for all the reasons you mentioned.

Still, he won once and in terms of the Electoral College he was very competitive in the states that counted in 2020.

2 years ago, 70 million + people voted for him, so as of right now I'd have to say he's still in the game.

Very true about 2 years ago... although based on Trump's incumbent status, he had no challengers on the Republican ticket. For 2024, there's going to be some very viable candidates which changes the party dynamics and inject real choice where little existed. Trumps legal baggage is far from behind him. To me, that takes a lot of the moderate and independent momentum away from Trump. There's going to be far better choices...

If the Democrats can find field someone other than Pete or Kamala... sleepy Joe won't be napping his way into a nomination either. Plus his legal trouble seem to be ramping up and it's not just Republicans coming after him and the family business...

[Terry]

Very true about 2 years ago... although based on Trump's incumbent status, he had no challengers on the Republican ticket. For 2024, there's going to be some very viable candidates which changes the party dynamics and inject real choice where little existed. Trumps legal baggage is far from behind him. To me, that takes a lot of the moderate and independent momentum away from Trump. There's going to be far better choices...

If the Democrats can find field someone other than Pete or Kamala... sleepy Joe won't be napping his way into a nomination either. Plus his legal trouble seem to be ramping up and it's not just Republicans coming after him and the family business...

I think it's like Sesh said, though, in that (much like 2015-2016) if you get 10 + candidates running in the primaries, Trump never has to do much better than 30% in those races to prevail until it gets whittled down to 2. Nikki Haley? Mike Pompeo? Mike Pence? Mmmm...not really feeling it with any of those three in terms of generating excitement beyond maybe 10% in the primary field.

Then again, as you say, neither Pete nor Kamala on the top of the ticket does much for me for the opposition, either. I like Biden, but I'm having a hard time seeing him getting a second term.

[FORD]

The crowded "clown car" primaries seem to benefit the worst candidates in both parties. For the Republicans, they have many states where the primary winner takes all the delegates, regardless of how many votes they actually got. So if your "winning" candiate only got 30% of the votes, he gets the other 70% of the delegates regardless, which is exactly how Cheeto ended up the nominee in 2016, despite not getting 50% or better in any primary until NY, which was about halfway through the cycle. And even when it was down to just him, Cruz, and Kasich, he still didn't get a majority in many states.

Clown cars work differently in the Democratic party, but the combination of a clown car & a pandemic effectively cancelling any ability to campaign directly, is what allowed James Clyburn to pull the rug out of the 2020 race in South Carolina and anoint Biden as the "presumed nominee" even though Bernie Sanders had won every previous primary & caucus before then.

So if the 2024 race should end up with dueling clown cars on both sides, it's going to be a clusterfuck of biblical proportions that cannot possibly end well. Biden's repeat usage of the phrase "Let's Finish The Job" in his State of the Union speech would seem to be an indication that he's running again, but given his age, I think a decision needs to be made as to who the VP is on the ticket. Joe seems physically healthy for an 80 year old, and he's nowhere near Reagan or Feinstein level, mentally speaking. Still, it's not realistic to think that will still be the case 6 years from now

I don't think Scamala Harris is suited for the job, and Mayo Pete can't even do the job he has now. AOC's probably too young. Elizabeth Warren might be too old - since the ultimate goal would presumably be a VP who could run for the next 8 years. Obviously I still think it's a crime that Bernie was fucked over twice, but I don't see him running again, unfortunately. The "ideal" candidate to add to the ticket would be a woman governor who is under 60, but realizes that the greatest Democratic President was FDR, not Bill Clinton. Unfortunately, I can't think of anybody who fits that description, off the top of my head.

[Nickdfresh]

... Joe seems physically healthy for an 80 year old, and he's nowhere near Reagan or Feinstein level, mentally speaking. Still, it's not realistic to think that will still be the case 6 years from now
....

Not sure what you mean here. I am far from Biden's biggest defenders, but by all accounts (including right wing media) he gave a hell of a State-of-the-Union speech. Really? Reagan? he was suffering from alzheimer's pretty clearly by the end of his presidency. And I sort of like and fondly remember him...

The "Sleepy Joe" shit is just a fucking Fox News narrative that isn't born out and Biden is probably doing better than any of us can at his age. That said, he shouldn't be president as Trump shouldn't, too old to trust to make existential decisions....

Dude you love Bernie, not exactly the epidemy of youth and vigor either...

[FORD]

I mean exactly what I said. Joe being in reasonably good shape for his age NOW is no guarantee that will be the case in 6 years. When you're 80 years old, 6 years might as well be an eternity. You can be 80 years old and not look a day over 60, and still have a stroke when you're 82 and be dead by 86.

So if he wants to run, let him run. Just make sure there's a VP behind him who is capable of doing the job if Biden doesn't last that long.

And like I said, I'm sickened by the fact that Bernie got fucked over TWICE, but I'm not expecting him to run again either. Forget when his next Senate election is, but if he runs there again, it will probably be the last time. Hope Vermont can find somebody worthy of filling his seat when that time comes.

[Seshmeister]

Mike Pence?

Pence running would be crazy for so many reasons. When a significant number of your party literally tries to lynch you it's maybe time to move on...

[ZahZoo]

I mean exactly what I said. Joe being in reasonably good shape for his age NOW is no guarantee that will be the case in 6 years. When you're 80 years old, 6 years might as well be an eternity. You can be 80 years old and not look a day over 60, and still have a stroke when you're 82 and be dead by 86.

So if he wants to run, let him run. Just make sure there's a VP behind him who is capable of doing the job if Biden doesn't last that long.

And like I said, I'm sickened by the fact that Bernie got fucked over TWICE, but I'm not expecting him to run again either. Forget when his next Senate election is, but if he runs there again, it will probably be the last time. Hope Vermont can find somebody worthy of filling his seat when that time comes.

At Joe's age there's no guarantee he'll be in good shape in 6 months...

Even though they appear to be somewhat capable of doing their jobs... It's really time for Biden, Bernie and Trump to step aside and let the next generation govern. It's time for some serious change...

[Terry]

Pence running would be crazy for so many reasons. When a significant number of your party literally tries to lynch you it's maybe time to move on...

Pence is a walking embodiment of the axiom "a nobody for whom no one sent": a last minute choice for the ticket made at a time when nobody thought Trump could win...an unpopular Governor with no realistic prospects of anything greater until he was tapped by Trump.

Within months of Trump assuming office, Pence was largely irrelevant until the Jan 6 event, said event for Pence comprised of him cowering in the Capitol basement hoping security would be adequate to stop the lynch mob from reaching him.

Gets maybe 5% in the early primaries should he make it that far before dropping out if I had to wager on it this far out.

[FORD]

[Nitro Express]

De Santis hasn’t even announced running. Don and Ron could be playing a game to test loyalties in the party. If that’s what’s happening it’s brilliant.

[Nitro Express]

I mean exactly what I said. Joe being in reasonably good shape for his age NOW is no guarantee that will be the case in 6 years. When you're 80 years old, 6 years might as well be an eternity. You can be 80 years old and not look a day over 60, and still have a stroke when you're 82 and be dead by 86.

So if he wants to run, let him run. Just make sure there's a VP behind him who is capable of doing the job if Biden doesn't last that long.

And like I said, I'm sickened by the fact that Bernie got fucked over TWICE, but I'm not expecting him to run again either. Forget when his next Senate election is, but if he runs there again, it will probably be the last time. Hope Vermont can find somebody worthy of filling his seat when that time comes.

Anyone the establishment can’t control gets screwed. It doesn’t matter what party you are in. Bernie got sabotaged for that reason. Both parties are corrupt.