Trump vs DeSantis: Who Should Patriots Support for 2024?
The reason I'm posting this exclusively to Substack is because the community here has demonstrated it is the most lively and thoughtful on political issues. So, let's have this debate.
Today’s morning newsletter is one that is certain to prompt some people to unsubscribe. There are many patriots on both sides of the Trump/DeSantis aisle who will lambast me for criticizing their favorite or complimenting the other. That’s the nature of our current polarized situation in the United States. For many, it’s either complete loyalty or you’re considered part of the problem.
I received many Twitter DM’s yesterday when I expressed my opinion about not being happy with Donald Trump lately. It was shocking to me how so many people consider any criticism of Trump proof that I must be a Democrat. Then there were those who defended Trump to the point of claiming his continued endorsement of the jabs is all “part of the plan.” One person tried to convince me that technically Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin are considered to be “vaccines” now and that’s what he’s actually touting.
To start the discussion, I’ll state my stance. I still support Donald Trump, but I’m very concerned over two things. First, the aforementioned jabs. He’s still claiming he saved millions of lives by getting the Covid injections out there so quickly and that it may have been his greatest achievement as president.
Second, he is picking the wrong people to endorse. To be more accurate, he’s letting his advisors and mega-donors pick the wrong people for him to endorse. They are trying to pick winners rather than picking the best America First candidates. It’s all about having a winning record to demonstrate his control over the GOP, but it’s disingenuous. Endorsing who he thinks is going to win doesn’t mean his endorsements made them win.
Dr. Mehmet Oz is a globalist and left-leaning moderate. He makes Trump’s endorsement of Mitt Romney seem logical. And to those who try to compare him to Trump and others who have switched from Democrat to Republican, I would remind them that Trump’s transition towards populism was clear long before he ran for president. Dr. Oz was defending Roe v. Wade and pushing for gun control until months before he decided he wanted to be a Senator.
Then, there’s Katie Britt in Alabama. This is a trickier one because Trump believes Mo Brooks betrayed him by saying we need to stop focusing on the 2020 election theft and fix things for the future. I disagree with him, but considering he did exponentially more to try to correct the 2020 stolen election than Britt or any of the other candidates for Senate, it’s hypocritical to endorse her.
But here’s the thing. If Trump wasn’t picking winners, he would never have endorsed Britt even if he didn’t want to endorse Brooks. He should not have made an endorsement in the race because Britt is 100% controlled by Mitch McConnell. This is why McConnell’s people will have sunk well over $10 million dollars into the race for Britt before the runoff. McConnell was investing so heavily in Britt to STOP Trump’s endorsed candidate. Britt is the RINO’s RINO, just another McConnell puppet he’ll use to pass anti-American legislation if the GOP retakes the Senate.
With all that said, the body of work for Donald Trump is why I still support him. He did more for America despite being surrounded by RINOs than any president in recent history. There is work to do and I hope his base can sway him again after the midterm elections if he chooses to run. As I’ve long said, I love his policies and hate his choice of people.
H.R. McMaster, Rex Tillerson, Reince Priebus, Omarosa, Bill Barr, Mike Pence, John Kelly, John Bolton, Jim Mattis, Jeff Sessions, Mark Esper, Anthony Scaramucci — I could make a very long list of very bad choices Trump inserted into his White House.
Nevertheless, he’s a proven entity and if he runs, I’m hopeful that he will learn his lessons from his first term and get America First patriots on his team instead of RINOs, Democrats, and Deep State operatives.
As for Ron DeSantis, I like him a lot. I am definitely ready to support him for a 2028 presidential run and 2024 if Trump doesn’t run. I may be persuaded to support him in 2024 even if Trump runs. It’s too early to tell.
One caveat: There’s a hero-worship surrounding DeSantis right now that is unhealthy. His supporters are very much like Trump supporters in believing he can do no wrong. I’m a big fan of improving candidates and politicians, and that requires criticism. Those who believe they can do no wrong are certain to be incorrect.
It’s unfortunate they both reside in Florida. While that fact does not prohibit them from running on the same ticket, it makes it challenging from a Constitutional perspective because the electors in Florida will only be allowed to vote for one or the other. An archaic rule establishes that if they run together, only one or the other can get Florida’s electoral vote. This was based on the original voting process in which the VP was the runner-up in the presidential race. Here’s the text from Article II of the Constitution:
"The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves."
In 1804, the Twelfth Amendment altered the Electoral College process and created a separate ballot for vice president. But the rule of not being able to use both votes on a person from an elector's home state remained in effect.
Technically, they could run together but it would be challenging to get them both in office unless they won by more than Florida’s 29 electoral votes. If the GOP controlled the Senate at the time, then it would be fine because they would then install DeSantis if he didn’t get the 270 to win without Florida, but it’s all a headache that pretty much everyone will want to avoid.
In other words, a Trump-DeSantis 2024 ticket is virtually impossible.
So, that’s where I stand. I support Trump. I like DeSantis. If they run against each other, I don’t know which one I’ll support. Whoever wins a primary between them will get my vote in November 2024.
I almost hope one or the other doesn’t run in 2024 so we can avoid the GOP civil war that would ensue. Almost. The side of me that appreciates the merits of discourse and friendly conflict as sharpening tools is actually giddy about the prospects.
Iron sharpens iron. Could a protracted GOP primary be exactly what this nation needs to make both men stronger, or would the conflict drive too large of a wedge within the party, thus aiding the Democrats?
Please post your thoughts in the comments.
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I will support Trump if he wins the nomination, but I hope he backs out. Here's why:
1. He still has lousy advisors (Stepien, Clark)
2. He's unforgivably blind to the destruction that Operation Warp Speed caused
3. His endorsements show that he hasn't learned from his awful personnel picks in office
4. He cannot seem to pick battles. Everything becomes an ego, personal issue
5. He is never going to stop being the issue.
6. He failed to declassify / unredact all the Sussmann evidence that would have ruined the Dems
7. He went along with the Deep State on Assange and Snowden
8. He let Fauci and Birx destroy the country. He should have brought in outside experts (Ioannidis, Bhatacharya, Gupta, Kulldorff)
9. He is horribly inarticulate. His clumsy comments in early Jan 2021 were misinterpreted because he often fails to speak clearly
There are more but that's enough. He's a good man who was a lightening rod, but now he's scarred and burned. It would be best for him to back away and let a young, smart warrior like DeSantis pick up where he left off.
I prefer DeSantis!