Likely 2024 Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis continues to respond indirectly to Donald Trump’s ongoing attacks by pointing to the inconsistencies, as the popular Florida governor sees them, between his victories and Trump crediting himself for the “very disloyal” DeSantis and his successes.
And during a rousing speech in Michigan on Thursday, DeSantis went “there” and told it like it is, in his opinion. The governor’s bottom line: “Republicans have developed a culture of losing,” while “Florida has a culture of winning.”
Now, that could be little more than a simple campaign slogan — or not — depending on its proximity to the truth. We’ll explore which it was, as we continue.
As reported by the Daily Wire, DeSantis emphasized the importance of Republicans ridding themselves of a culture of losing that he says the party has experienced in recent years, during his speech before the Midland County Republicans’ annual Spring Breakfast.
In this endeavor, there is no substitute for victory. And what I see around the country with Republicans is they’ve started to develop a culture of losing.
DeSantis highlighted a story we covered on RedState about a left-wing candidate winning a critical seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which flipped the state’s high court to a left-wing majority for the first time in 15 years. As we also reported, former President Donald Trump promptly made the loss all about… wait for it… Donald Trump.
Rather than trudge through it a second time, I’ll just leave Trump’s Truth Social post here.
Daniel Kelly of Wisconsin just lost his Supreme Court Election. He bragged that he won’t seek Trump’s Endorsement, so I didn’t give it—which guaranteed his loss. How foolish is a man that doesn’t seek an Endorsement that would have won him the Election?
Uh-huh. And how foolish is a man who gets all butthurt instead of telling the MAGA faithful to vote for Kelly because a conservative majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court just might come in handy during the 2024 presidential election vote count?
DeSantis continued by explaining the contrast between the Florida GOP and the national party:
In Florida, we have a culture of winning, we have a culture of execution, and we have a culture of delivering results. And you need to be able to win. It’s not easy. When you stand for the right things in this day and age, man, you are going to have a lot of blowback. Leadership isn’t cost-free.
You got to have the courage of your convictions. And you got to understand that whether it’s a governor, whether it’s a mother going into a school board meeting to protest some of the insanity, they’re gonna come at you, and you’re gonna have to make some sacrifices.
But you know, I think it’s worth making those sacrifices — lord knows people have made much bigger sacrifices in the history of our country so that we could be free.
They’re also going to come after you, governor — from all sides — when they view you as a direct threat to the power they believe belongs to them — and they’re going to call you “very disloyal” if you have the audacity to refuse to fall in line, in lemming-like fashion.
Ron DeSantis also smartly keeps his eye on the real prize and wisely refuses to wrestle in the mud.
The Bottom Line
In reference to my last paragraph before the video, remember when “some” self-declared “conservatives” lauded Ron DeSantis? I mean, prior to all the talk about the increasingly popular governor becoming a likely 2024 GOP candidate? Me, too.
And remember how that all changed, as the 2024 speculation continued? Me, too. The silly nicknames? The name-calling of DeSantis supporters and political writers who want DeSantis to run? Yep, me, too.
Far as I can tell, neither DeSantis nor his policies have changed a damn bit between the time he was lauded and how he’s now castigated. Huh. Go figure.