DeSantis on War with the Bahamas? Re-Posted Nov 14, 2023 By Martin Armstrong 


DeSantis initially attempted to remain a bit vague on where he stands on America’s participation in foreign wars. He redacted a statement made early on in his campaign about America’s involvement in Ukraine, saying they are, in fact, deserving of US resources. Ron DeSantis did a good job as the governor of Florida by putting Florida first, but would he put America first as president?

DeSantis showed great leadership when he sent two planes into an active warzone to retrieve American citizens. He has vowed to deport pro-Hamas protestors, which is at least a US-related issue. Ron went overseas to visit Netanyahu, who called him a “friend of Israel.” “We didn’t talk about American politics,” Netanyahu said. “I have enough politics here.” Once again, a US politician is failing to put America first.

DeSantis is now saying that Israel’s response to the attack by Hamas is inevitable. “What are you supposed to do? I mean, I used to say even when they would just fire the normal rockets because they’ve been firing these rockets for years and years. And I thought to myself, like, if the Bahamas were firing rockets into Fort Lauderdale, like, we would not accept that for, like, one minute. I mean, we would just level it. We would never be willing to live like that as Americans,” DeSantis said.

Now, the Bahamas has no plans to attack Florida, and the analogy is a bit ridiculous. Florida-Bahama tensions are non-existent. But most importantly, DeSantis is showing that he would pledge full support to Israel if elected president and escalate this war in accordance with the globalist agenda.

The presidential hopeful has stated that America is responsible for protecting Israel. He is ramping up fears of nuclear war to explain America’s involvement. “Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons creates a risk like you’ve not seen in this region,” DeSantis said. “It’s an existential threat to the state of Israel and to the United States of America.” The media loves the old “weapons of mass destruction” tactic.

Now, this is the man who once called the war in Ukraine a “territorial dispute” before changing his mind and condemning Putin as a war criminal. He is not coming out as a blatant Neocon like Haley, but make no mistake about it: DeSantis is a pro-war candidate.

Ron DeSantis Wins Endorsement From “America’s Most Unpopular Governor”


Posted originally on the CTH on November 5, 2023 | Sundance 

The timing here is just splendid.  According to multiple MSM sources, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is scheduled to endorse Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for the 2024 GOP nomination.  The endorsement is scheduled to be announced tomorrow in Iowa.

This endorsement comes on the heels of a recent Morning Consult poll [SEE HERE] showing Governor Kim Reynolds is “America’s most unpopular governor.” How appropriate is that?!

[…] “Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-Iowa) is America’s most unpopular governor, with a 47% disapproval rating, up from 39% in the first quarter of 2023. Her unpopularity increased partly because of a surge in negative sentiment among independent and Republican voters during a year in which she signed a strict anti-abortion law and took a lashing from former President Donald Trump over her apparent closeness with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.).” (link)

[Source Link]

You might remember when I said, and repeated, to “watch the RGA.”  Well, surprise, surprise, guess who is the current RGA Chair?  Yup, Kim Reynolds. {link}  These people are entirely predictable.

[CTH, January 2023] […] “As I’m watching President Trump doing the familiar targeting of the GOPe roadmap, in this instance hitting the Club for Growth (CfG), my spidey senses are telling me their modified 2024 path will involve increased emphasis on the Republican Governors Association (RGA).

In the 2020 midterms, the RGA headed by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey was positioning: specifically positioning Ron DeSantis.  If the modified establishment roadmap rolls out as it looks right now, I suspect the RGA will play a key role in it.”  (keep reading)

You might not have remembered the way the RGA was positioning [reference the $20 million donation to DeSantis in April 2022, which was always intended as a laundry operation for the 2024 GOP primary], which always had this Reynolds endorsement lined up to be triggered, but at least we know Donald Trump saw the roadmap as outlined.

Back in February, 2023, President Donald Trump was noting the same strategic plays that we were.  Fortunately, he was keeping an eye on how the Republican Governors Association (RGA) was intending to execute their anti-MAGA moves against the base working class voters. [Trump Truth]

[Background Article]

Once you see the strings on the marionettes, it becomes impossible to return to that moment in the performance when you did not see them.

Lastly, while this endorsement was pre-baked into the 2024 roadmap and entirely predictable, it has been triggered early.

Kim Reynolds endorsing Ron DeSantis is a break from tradition.  The Iowa governor rarely endorses a presidential candidate; hence, that was the motive for the plan.  The roadmap added this little ‘shock and awe’ move as part of the design long before people were even willing to admit that DeSantis was running.  However, the endorsement was not supposed to happen until after the 2023 holidays, when it would be closer to the Iowa caucuses and carry more benefit.

Why did the DeSantis handlers need to trigger this endorsement early?  Because DeSantis is going backward in Iowa and Nikki Haley is now pushing ahead of him.

The more the Iowa voters get to see Ron DeSantis, the less they like him.

The GOPe roadmap is collapsing… the timing of this predictable move by the RGA component shows desperation.

The billionaire class of the professional Republican manipulators are failing, Bigly!

Be of good cheer, we are kicking their ass! 

[Source]

Shrinking Ron DeSantis Goes Shopping for a Lift With MSNBC, Morning Joe, Viewers


Posted originally on the CTH on November 2, 2023 | Sundance 

The guy gets more pathetic with every poll that shows him shrinking.  The latest strategy to garner Republican support is for the Florida governor to appear on MSNBC “Morning Joe” to participate in the orange man bad conversation.

The devolution of DeSantis is actually quite funny; it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy of visible desperation.  We all knew this was going to happen, but it’s still pathetic to watch it play out in real time.  In the big picture, the arc of this collapsing narrative was very predictable, because Ron DeSantis winning the 2024 GOP nomination is not the goal of the people who funded and talked him into this mission.  The real goal is to stop Trump, and that brings forth all of the silly desperation as Trump keeps dominating.

As Ron DeSantis brags on his electability, MSNBC runs graphics showing how badly his campaign is doing.  Too funny.  Additionally, Ron DeSantis now pushes the narrative that Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election and took nuclear secrets to his home in Mar-a-Lago.  WATCH:

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Longer excerpt below.

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Too Funny – The Most Media Coverage Ever Recorded for Ron DeSantis Is All About His Boot Lifts


Posted originally on the CTH on October 31, 2023 | Sundance

You know things have collapsed into an unserious candidacy when this is the predominate conversation about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.  However, it is a little more than just ordinarily funny; it’s factually well-deserved snark.

The issue of Ron DeSantis wearing weird boots and lifts, to give himself the illusion of greater physical stature, has been building over time on various internet discussion formats.  Yesterday, podcaster Patrick Bet-David took the issue directly to the source.  The discomfort on DeSantis’ face was clear and palpable – even as he claims he is 5′ 11″ at the end of the clip.  WATCH:

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Politico even did a forensic and expert analysis using three experts in shoes, boots and lifts [READ HERE].  Seriously, it’s their #1 most read article. lolol   The determination by the experts is that Ron DeSantis DOES wear lifts.  Everything about this story is hilarious and has become viral internet meme fuel.

Unfortunately, once the meme momentum gains this level of popularity, it sticks.

My sincere apologies in advance, but I must confess to my nonstop laughter.


What the Heck Is on His Feet?


Posted originally on the CTH on October 28, 2023 

This is not an intelligent man of temperate disposition.  This is an empty vessel filled with the thoughts, catchphrases, and opinions of others, including his apparel.

What is this choice of goofy footwear supposed to represent?

DeSantis spoke with DailyMail.com ahead of his remarks at a breakfast with Nevada Republicans at Treasure Island on the Las Vegas Strip. (Source)

Someone once swore to me that a person very close to DeSantis was intentionally undermining his effort because they quietly disliked (immensely) the fraudulent operation surrounding this long-planned 2024 presidential bid.  I laughed it off, but they were very serious.  As time goes on, and these subtle exhibitions of his authentically stupid persona surface, I no longer dismiss that prior statement.

Local Florida News Station Broadcasts Reality of DeSantis Campaign


Posted originally on the CTH on October 6, 2023 | Sundance

WFLA news broadcasts in the Tampa Bay area of Florida.  Recapping Governor Ron DeSantis’ campaign trip in the area, the broadcasters were brutally honest.

According to the reporter on the ground, about 200 people showed up for DeSantis, and things get worse as the political analyst explains the status of nonexistent campaign funds and donors pulling away from the governor in his doomed bid to reestablish the Bush era in national politics.  WATCH:

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DeSantis haz sad….

Florida Power & Light Successfully Lobbied DeSantis


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Oct 6, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

The Florida Supreme Court denied Florida Power & Light’s request to spike energy rates by 20%. The court demands that state regulators properly explain the need for the drastic spike in rates. Floridians Against Increased Rates, Florida Rising, the Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida, and the League of United Latin American Citizens of Florida took the energy company to court and stated it violated state law and public interest. So where does DeSantis come into play?

DeSantis appoints the Florida Public Service Commission, and he approves the board. Who donated $9.5 million to the DeSantis campaign? Florida Power & Light. The governor is responsible for their jobs and budget. The originally approved money grab cost Floridians $692 million last January, followed by an additional $560 million after the most recent hike. People here will tell you that their energy bills have doubled, if not more. FPL is one of many energy companies in the state that are taking advantage of the people.

The Supreme Court said that they could not find any justification for the increased energy costs. “In this case, after hearing from 60 witnesses and receiving 635 exhibits into evidence, the commission produced an explanation of its public interest determination that spanned little more than a page,” Justice John Couriel stated. “The order provides conclusory statements about the virtues of the settlement agreement, not the reasoned explanation required for our review.”

The energy company’s reply is contradictory to everything DeSantis is campaigning on. “FPL customers are already benefiting from this agreement, which enables the company to continue making sustained, customer-focused investments in infrastructure, clean energy and innovative technology while keeping bills as low as possible,” the statement said. DeSantis claims he is against the push for sustainable clean energy. In fact, he denied accepting funding from the Inflation Reduction Act that would have provided Floridians with rebates for installing green energy measures.

I am a bit disappointed in Ron DeSantis. I can discuss the insurance crisis in Florida in another post, as insurance companies have fled Florida and the ones that are left are demanding double-digit increases each year. As I am writing this post, word came in that Progressive Insurance is pulling out of Florida now too. A lot of people here pay more for insurance than taxes. So while it is a low-tax state, the rising insurance and energy costs are quickly making up for those costs.

We all saw the first GOP debate where DeSantis looked around the room before raising his hand to say he was against additional aid to Ukraine. Looking around the room before giving a response is not indicative of a leader. I initially liked DeSantis, but now his integrity is in question.

Desperate DeSantis Appears on Bill Maher Show to Defend Joe Biden from 2020 Election Questioning


Posted originally on the CTH September 30, 2023 | Sundance 

With Donald Trump holding an unbreakable majority lead with the base voters, and with Nikki Haley now surging to take the lead over the Never Trump Republicans, Ron DeSantis is watching his lane disappear.

Last night, in a desperate move to appeal to the left, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appeared on HBO with Bill Maher to defend Joe Biden from criticism.   Mr. Maher was more than happy to bring up the issue of 2020 “election deniers” like Kari Lake, and DeSantis was more than willing to join the Maher parade.

Amid DeSantis’ 12% support system, there was likely a percentage of Trump supporters who were willing to grant benefit of doubt; that segment will likely now disappear. WATCH:

Think about it….  DeSantis claims, without evidence, that he alone would have possessed the fortitude and determination to push back against the entire global professional medical establishment during the 2020 COVID-19 madness, and yet he buckles on the soft ball about the 2020 election fraud.  This guy is as phony as the Sea Island/Jeb Bush operation behind him.

Club For Growth Cries Uncle – McIntosh Tells Donors No Attack Effort Against Trump Is Working


Posted originally on the CTH on September 29, 2023 | Sundance 

It is important, VERY IMPORTANT, to remember the Club for Growth (CfG) is the Ron DeSantis career financial vehicle.  Ever since his first steps into Congress, CfG has been the primary financial sponsor for the now Florida Governor.  There is no moment in the political career of DeSantis where CfG does not exist.

While the DeSantis SuperPAC Never Back Down is the mechanics of the DeSantis election strategy, CfG is the well invested advising side, and David McIntosh has been the source of DeSantis’ career guidance for a decade.  That’s how intrinsically connected Club for Growth is to Ron and Casey DeSantis.

CfG has also opposed Donald Trump for his “America First” economic plan from the moment they realized Trump was serious about economic nationalism, control over immigration, a renewal of the American manufacturing sector, balanced trade and reciprocal tariffs.  All of these policy points are against the interests of McIntosh and the larger Club for Growth agenda.  The CfG has been working against Trump since 2016.

That is the appropriate context for a memo written by David McIntosh to those who fund Club for Growth, as reported by the New York Times.  McIntosh writes a brutally honest letter to the professionally Republican donor class, saying all of their efforts against Trump have been futile, and there is no effective strategy that will break the bond the American middle-class voter has with President Donald Trump.

(New York Times) – A well-funded group of anti-Trump conservatives has sent its donors a remarkably candid memo that reveals how resilient former President Donald J. Trump has been against millions of dollars of negative ads the group deployed against him in two early-voting states.

The political action committee, called Win It Back, has close ties to the influential fiscally conservative group Club for Growth. It has already spent more than $4 million trying to lower Mr. Trump’s support among Republican voters in Iowa and nearly $2 million more trying to damage him in South Carolina.

But in the memo — dated Thursday and obtained by The New York Times — the head of Win It Back PAC, David McIntosh, acknowledges to donors that after extensive testing of more than 40 anti-Trump television ads, “all attempts to undermine his conservative credentials on specific issues were ineffective.”

[…] “Even when you show video to Republican primary voters — with complete context — of President Trump saying something otherwise objectionable to primary voters, they find a way to rationalize and dismiss it,” Mr. McIntosh states in the “key learnings” section of the memo.

“Every traditional postproduction ad attacking President Trump either backfired or produced no impact on his ballot support and favorability,” Mr. McIntosh adds. “This includes ads that primarily feature video of him saying liberal or stupid comments from his own mouth.”

[…] The memo says this of Win It Back’s most promising pandemic-themed ad: “This ad was our best creative on the pandemic and vaccines that we tested in focus group settings, but it still produced a backlash in our online randomized controlled experiment — improving President Trump’s ballot support by four points and net favorability by 11 points.”

Win It Back did not bother running ads focused on Mr. Trump as an instigator of political violence or as a threat to democracy. The group tested in a focus group and online panel an ad called “Risk,” narrated by former Representative Liz Cheney, that focused on Mr. Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021. But the group found that the Cheney ad helped Mr. Trump with the Republican voters, according to Mr. McIntosh. (read more)

Ron DeSantis Drops to Fifth Place in Latest New Hampshire Polling


Posted originally on the CTH on September 20, 2023 | Sundance 

One week ago, a poll of South Carolina voters showed that Ron DeSantis had dropped to fourth place with only 9% support, far behind President Trump at 46% {LINK}. Today a poll out of New Hampshire shows DeSantis dropping to fifth place with 10% support. {LINK}  To give some scale to the collapse, this represents a drop of more than 75% of DeSantis’ original support since mid-January of this year. [From 43% to 10%]

The New Hampshire University Poll [SEE DATA HERE] also shows, while he doesn’t carry much support, the very specific demographics of DeSantis supporters are old, rich, white men who listen to Buck Sexton on the radio. This demographic pattern repeats in just about every poll; it’s quite remarkable.  I will admit to finding it funny, when the predictions from a year ago show up with such clarity.

[Data Source]

New Hampshire – Thirty-nine percent of likely primary voters’ support Trump, followed by entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (13%), former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley (12%), former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (11%), and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (10%). Six percent support South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, 2% support former Vice President Mike Pence, and 1% or less support North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum (1%), former Texas Congressman Will Hurd (1%), former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson (<1%), or talk show host Larry Elder (<1%). Less than 1% support another candidate while 6% are unsure whom they would support. (more)