No such luck I’m afraid, though it would be great if Florida were to be "Where DeSantism Goes to Die?” Dying in its crib, so to speak. But that would still leave Trumpism, and the “Zionist/National Conservatism/Traditional Conservatism” (ZioCon) they and their Movement represent. With more on who they are, and what their “ideas” stand for below:
Quote: "Florida has firmly cemented itself in recent years as ground zero for the nation’s culture wars. The Sunshine State is the birthplace of conservative parental rights group Moms for Liberty, the original law restricting LGBTQ+ discussion in classrooms, one of the strictest abortion laws in the country and legislation that has led to the banning of more books than in any other state in America.
"But the pushback is growing.
. . .
"Judges are also canceling some of DeSantis’s marquee laws, including the “Stop Woke Act.”A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled Monday that the law “exceeds the bounds” of the Constitution’s First Amendment right to freedom of speech and _expression_. (TP-What “TraditionalConservatives”have always stood for since Willmoore Kendall, Joe McCarthy, et al.; exceeding "the Constitution’s First Amendment right to freedom of speech and _expression_.)
. . .
"Many lawmakers credit RepublicanSenate President Kathleen Passidomo for some of the shift. Passidomo stopped several culture war bills from progressing in the Senate, including one that would have punished local officials who oversaw the removal of Confederate monuments.
"DeSantis strongly supported the bill, arguing that it is problematic to apply a “hyper-woke 21st-century test” to historical figures.
“It’s totally appropriate for the legislature to say, ‘You know what? We’re going to stop this madness,’” DeSantis said at a news conference in Jacksonville in February, two months after the city pulled down a controversial Jim Crow-era monument called “Women of the Southland.” (TP-“Underline" is an embedded line.)
"Among the public speakers who supported the monuments bill at a Senate hearing was a man who said he wanted to protect Confederate statues to “push White culture, white supremacy.” (TP-Emphasis added. Like Traditional Conservatives John P. East, Jesse Helms, Strom Thurmond, et al., before him.)
“Symbols matter,” Deegan said in explaining why she thought the statue had to go. “They tell the world what we stand for and what we aspire to be. By removing the Confederate monument from Springfield Park, we signal a belief in our shared humanity.”
"Her statement noted that the memorial “was erected during the peak of early 20th century Confederate monument-building, part of a widespread campaign to promote and justify Jim Crow laws in the South and intimidate African Americans.”
. . .
"Jacksonville continues to grapple with its history. In August, three Black people were fatally shot by a White man with a swastika-decorated AR-15-style rifle. The gunman — who had targeted a Dollar General store in a Black neighborhood near Edward Waters University, a historically Black college — killed himself before police arrived.
"The murders shook the city and, for many, brought about a reckoning with Jacksonville’s racist past. “Women of the Southland, 1861-1865” was for many an unwelcome reminder of that past.
"The12-columned, 41-foot-tall memorialfeatured three figures high atop a pedestal: a mother embracing her two children. The plaque included at its dedication made its intent clear. “Let this mute but eloquent structure speak to generations to come of a generation of the past,” it read. “Let it repeat perpetually the imperishable story of our women of the ’60s, those noble women who sacrificed their all upon their country’s altar.”
"The monument, erected in 1914 after a fundraising effort by the Florida division of the United Confederate Veterans, was the centerpiece of what for more than another century would be called Confederate Park."
More on the "New Right" Trumpist/DeSantist coalition, though briefly split over who should be POTUS next, from a year ago:
WACO — In front of 20,000 supporters jammed into the Waco Regional Airport, Donald Trump slowly recited the names of 15 Texas elected officials who are endorsing his third campaign for the White House.
One by one he thanked them for supporting him in previous years and in the future.
“They’re for me, and I’m for them,” Trump said March 25, revealing a strategy he could use in other states to try to lock up primary votes.
The backing of the conservative right, along with legions of grassroots activists, has bolstered Trump as the dominant political player in Texas.
The former president is trying to lock down the Lone Star State well ahead of the March 2024 presidential primary. Though there’s still time for the political winds to shift, and they could given Trump’s legal issues, the Texas strength gives him an advantage over other Republican presidential contenders, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Texas has the second-most delegates, trailing only California. That makes it a critical battleground in the GOP race for the White House. That’s why Trump billed Texas as the first official stop of his 2024 campaign. It could be his political firewall or final, victorious blow.
Trump hopes to leave little room for DeSantis and other potential candidates to navigate. At the rally in Waco, DeSantis was the second choice among most of the people interviewed by The Dallas Morning News. Their sentiment was the Trump era is not over and DeSantis is a better fit leading Florida, not the nation.
“He’ll win Texas, and he’ll sweep nearly all the delegates,” said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who was state director of Trump’s two previous campaigns for the White House. “There’s no one that can draw this kind of crowd with less than two weeks’ notice. There’s no one that can out speak him on the podium, and there’s no one that can out debate him. And he knows the issues.”
Patrick said DeSantis, who is thought by some to be the great Republican hope against Trump, can’t beat the former president.
“Ron DeSantis has done a good job as governor, as we’ve done here in Texas, but I don’t think anyone beats Donald Trump,” he said.
Less than a week after his Waco rally, Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge. It complicates his bid for the White House, including his primary campaign, where Republicans are resoundingly against the indictment.
According to the Associated Press, prosecutors said they were working to coordinate Trump’s surrender, which could happen early next week, but they did not say whether they intended to seek prison time in the event of a conviction.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and called the indictment a “political persecution.”
‘The chaos’
Tom Pauken, a former Texas Republican Party chairman and a former Trump delegate in the 2016 presidential primary, said DeSantis is the best candidate he’s seen since Reagan. He predicted DeSantis would win Texas after going on a roll in the early primary states.
He pointed to Trump’s legal problems as a reason DeSantis would emerge as the frontrunner for the nomination.
“People are tired of the chaos associated with Trump,” he said.
Republican consultant Bill Miller said Trump is trying to secure Texas early, because he doesn’t have room to grow. DeSantis does.
“He needs an early knockout, so he’ll be throwing roundhouse punches in order to win early,” Miller said. “But Texas is too big. One rally in one part of the state doesn’t mean that it’s locked down.”
Temple retiree Janet Larson said Trump “cares about America” and “he tells it like it is.”
She said the Trump movement is resurgent after a tough 2020.
“For a long time after Biden was elected, Republicans almost had to kind of hide in the closet because of the blowback you’d get,” she said. “You were afraid to let anyone know who you wanted to vote for, but now I think we’re coming out of that, and we’re standing up and coming out with strong support.”
Gobbling up Texas support
In the runup to his rally, Trump and his campaign aides were contacting Texas elected officials — statewide and in Congress — to score endorsements.
Most of the leaders Trump called had received his endorsement in previous years, giving the former president the advantage of being able to call in favors.
From 2020 to now, Trump was particularly active in Texas, where he endorsed statewide leaders like Gov. Greg Abbott, Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. He also backed a number Texas members of Congress, including many who endorsed him Saturday.
Trump will likely replicate his Texas strategy across the country, where political debt will come due for numerous elected leaders.
While political endorsements range from being useful to worthless, they give Trump the ability to project that he’s still the leader of the party.
And he’s preaching loyalty.
“I’m a loyalist,” Trump said in Waco, referring to his 2018 endorsement of DeSantis, who is now poised to run against Trump for the GOP nomination for president.
FILE - This combination of the photos shows former President Donald Trump, left, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, right. DeSantis’ allies are gaining confidence in his White House prospects as former President Donald Trump’s legal woes mount. Trump, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, is facing possible criminal charges in New York, Georgia and Washington. The optimism around DeSantis comes even as a collection of Republican officials and MAGA influencers raise concerns about the Florida governor’s readiness for national stage. (AP Photo/File)(Phil Sears / ASSOCIATED PRESS)
“It’s time for younger, but proven, leadership” to take on President Joe Biden next year, the Austin Republican told supporters in an email blast.
And there are establishment Republicans also looking toward DeSantis, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin or someone else. Former United Nations Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is already in the race.
In early March, DeSantis was the keynote speaker at GOP fundraisers in Dallas and Houston.
Pauken attended the Dallas event.
“I was for Trump in Texas in 2016 when almost everyone was for [Ted] Cruz; and I was a Trump national delegate that year,” Pauken said. “This time I am for DeSantis, who exemplifies courage and competence. He got a huge turnout at his Dallas event. A lot of former Trump supporters and appointees told me privately at that event they are for DeSantis. I think DeSantis will have strong, grassroots support in Texas and will win here.”
“DeSantis will run as a guy who can win,” Miller said. “Trump is selling anger.”
Supporters of former President Donald Trump watch his plane takeoff after a campaign rally at Waco Regional Airport Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)(Nathan Howard / ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Staying loyal to Trump
According to security, the former president drew more than 20,000 people (he says 25,000) in reliably red Waco. At this point, it seems unlikely DeSantis will be that big of an attraction anywhere in the country.
“It’s my first Trump rally,” said Joshua Francis, a mechanical engineer who came to America from the West African nation of Sierra Leone. “We live in Houston, and it was a good opportunity to come and actually be a part of it.”
Francis, who attended the rally with his wife, said he likes Trump because he’s “transparent” and loves his country. He said as an immigrant, he understands the importance of America being a model for the world, even for people who can’t live here.
“Is America still that place?” he asked. “That’s why we need Trump, to restore America.”
“He still needs to stay in Florida and learn,” Francis said. “Washington is not an easy place. We need tough men that have been tried and true, like Trump.”
Francis is unmoved by Trump’s legal troubles.
“Some of the things that the media has complained about with Trump are those things that are common to man. If he’s flaunting it and not being repentant about it, that would be a whole different issue,” he said. “He’s got to get the benefit of the doubt sometimes.”
Trump’s rally contained spiritual elements that cast him as a prophet, redeemer and patriot.
Before he spoke, a video of the January 6th prisoner song called “Justice for All” blared throughout the airport, along with images of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Trump bragged that the song hit No. 1 on the Billboard and iTunes digital sales charts, even beating Taylor Swift. He said he recorded the song, which praised participants of the riot, with the J6 choir of those being held in prison for their part in the attack. The choir sings the National Anthem as Trump recites the Pledge of Allegiance.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn chided Trump for playing the video.
“People who violated the law should be prosecuted. And they have been,” Cornyn told NBC News.
“I just frankly don’t understand this, you know, retrospective look,” he said. “When it comes to running for president or any other office, people don’t want you to relitigate all your grievances in the past. They want to know what your vision for the future is. And so I don’t think it’s a formula for success.”
During the last few minutes of his Waco speech, Trump spoke over haunting background music, as he promised to restore America to its former glory.
Already approaching the 90-minute mark of the speech, the audience didn’t react, except for when Trump mentioned the Battle of Gonzales in the Texas Revolution.
“This is the state where a small band of patriots … armed with a single cannon stared down a foreign enemy and declared ‘come and take it,’” Trump said. “Texas is the state where generations of farmers and ranchers, sheriffs and lawmen, cowboys, cattle hands, prospectors and pioneers helped build America into the greatest nation in the history of the world. And we’re going to bring it back to that level. It’s not there now. We’re going to bring it back.”
Melissa Ford, a Meridian stay-at-home mother, wore a bright red Trump T-shirt and moved to the music that played before Trump hit the stage.
“This is my first rally,” she said. “My preference is Trump. He’s actually for the American people, but I would also vote for DeSantis, too, because he’s just as good.”
Larson, the retiree from Temple, said the GOP primary would attract contenders against Trump, including DeSantis. She predicted the former president would be triumphant.
“There are other people that will probably come in to run against him,” she said. “I think maybe they’re doing it as a prequel to four years from now, because they won’t win against him.”
Gromer Jeffers Jr., political writer. The Howard University graduate and Chicago native has covered four presidential campaigns and written extensively about local, state and national politics. Before The News, he was a reporter at The Kansas City Star and The Chicago Defender. You can catch Gromer every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on NBC 5's Lone Star Politics.
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