CNN: Trump racks up Hill endorsements, while DeSantis faces headwinds

While Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a meet-and-greet on Capitol Hill, former President Donald Trump and his team aimed to be one step ahead – planning a dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort with members of the Florida congressional delegation just two days after the DeSantis reception. #CNN #News

Transcript

The big Ron DeSantis trip to Washington was a big win for Donald Trump. The Florida governor was here yesterday looking to make friends for his likely 20, 24 presidential run. But three Florida House Republicans announced around that trip their endorsement of Trump. One gave her support to DeSantis. That brings Trump’s endorsement count

To seven of Florida’s 20 Republican House members. Just one is for Governor DeSantis so far. Some new CNN reporting today details the personal touches Trump uses to win these endorsements. They include a dinner coming up for Florida Republicans at Trump’s Mar a Lago. One source telling CNN that if DeSantis wants endorsements,

He, quote, should be picking up the phone and calling directly instead of having an aide doing the reach out, adding, quote, You know who calls for the Trump endorsement? Trump himself. CNN’s Mary Snow is part of this new reporting and joins our conversation. This is interesting. And endorsements of House members

Are not going to be the determining factor in who wins the Republican nomination. This is one day in the life of the 20, 24 campaign. So we shouldn’t overstate it. But but when Donald Trump for president in 2016 it was making it up as you go along.

This is proof that he has an organization that is strategically thinking and looking to embarrass Ron DeSantis. Exactly right. Trump has made this a personal priority of his he specifically trying to get Florida Republicans to endorse him because his team really wants to build this narrative that even DeSantis,

His own constituents are backing Trump. And so he is having a dinner at Mar a Lago for some Florida members. He’s been personally making calls. He’s been really leaning into the loyalty angle in some of his pitches. And it is such a big contrast from Ron DeSantis,

Who is known as a bit of a loner. He’s more aloof, he’s more hands off. In fact, just as one example, he’s a Tennessee Republican. He said he’s heard from Trump’s team. He knows Trump. He’s taken pictures with Trump Trump has been friendly with his family, whereas he tried to get in contact

With Ron DeSantis multiple times last year. And he said, does he have does his team blew him off and in fact, he helped do a fundraiser for DeSantis in his own district and then they left him off the list. So you’re right, endorsements don’t necessarily indicate performance in a race

Or whether they’re going to succeed, but it does offer a very clear window into their operating styles. And if you go if you rewind the tape a couple of months and you look at things said on television programs like this, if you look at things written in the smart, great newspapers

By great political reporters, it was DeSantis had this team, right, that that was going to distinguish him because he had experienced people who would help him to this crushing reelection win in Florida. Where’s the evidence of that? Now, what where’s the evidence that Ron DeSantis has done anything particularly clever

To seize this moment that he has or had? Right. The fact that we’re even using the past tense at this point about his window to come in as a hard charging challenger to Trump is. I mean, Melanie’s reporting that that’s just like staggering political malpractise, right? You know, my colleagues

Who write a Politico playbook had some similar reporting about members from Florida, got a call from Donald Trump when he was in the ICU and never talked to me for the entire time that he’s been a member of Congress. He didn’t hear from Ron DeSantis. You can sort of sit on the sidelines

As a big popular governor with a big media profile and sort of wait for the moment that you want to get into the race. If you’re also doing a lot of stuff in private, that Ron DeSantis doesn’t seem to be doing. Discipline is the word that I keep coming back to

Because I think sort of early in the speculative Trump, the Sanders standoff like discussions it was like, well, the Sanders could be stronger than Trump because the sentences is very disciplined and Trump is very undisciplined. And you’re seeing actually a much more strategically disciplined early campaign on the Trump side. We’re all watching

What’s going on with Disney. That engagement between Trump and DeSantis or Trump going after DeSantis is quite interesting. The idea of the policy versus the personality. What are the limits of the kind of anti woke approach? And Trump is either just completely trolling DeSantis or is looking at polling

And other evidence that tells him that DeSantis actually has over talk to this and that he can get a strategic advantage. I think between that and the Bud Light, Don Junior saying, Let’s bring Bud Light back into the fold. It’s okay if they let transgender people like these are interesting steps

That I see as a piece of what’s going on with the courtship of House. And it’s not just Donald Trump. You know, if you have a good team that helps you in presidential politics and Trump again in 2016, it was sort of an open question. Remember a contested convention it was sort of

Make it up as you go along or bring new people in constantly. This is from a New York Times profile over the weekend of Susie Wiles who is directing the Trump Organization and quotes the infamous Roger Stone. She knows where the bodies are buried says Roger Stone, a longtime Trump adviser

Who is known as well for more than 30 years. She has a had a relationship with Ron DeSantis. It went south. Yeah. And so she is enjoying this moment. And again, Donald Trump embarrassed the governor. He had help from somebody who is more than willing to take down. She lives in Florida, too.

Yeah. And I go about 20 years. That was Susie Wiles and she does know where the bodies are buried. She does not forget. And so when she fell out with Ron DeSantis and was edged out that, you know, she has had a history with Trump as well.

But I think that gives her extra fuel to really want to Dean DeSantis in like Margaret said DeSantis seemed to have overplayed his hand in a lot of ways, overplayed his what his popular reelection really signals and now overplayed a lot of his relationships or lack thereof. Maybe underplayed those relationships

Is a better way to say it. But it does look and he is in a tough spot because he’s not a candidate. Like, how do you call up members of Congress and say, endorse me when you’re not a declared candidate? But but a lot of the private things he could be doing

A lot of the relationship building to at least keep members of this delegate gation from endorsing anyone. That’s what he’s not doing. The nomination will not be won here in Washington. But you can make friends here in Washington to help you win it in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, etc.. South Carolina is

Where Governor DeSantis is today. And he says this leadership at the end of the day is about doing what’s right. When you have intense opposition and a lot of unfair criticism, but you’re still willing to chart the proper course, you’ve got to have the fortitude to stand alone if necessary, if that’s

What the circumstances called the party. People remember, if you fought for them when it wasn’t easy because it’s easy to stand for the right things when everyone’s doing it. Just a quick note. Go now understands television a little better than when I started. He needs to work on his staff, get some lighting

And look at the lighting in the room there. But that almost sounds like he’s very aware of what he’s going through right now. I’ll stand alone. You got to deal with criticism. That’s the way to win votes. Well, I think part of the problem with that is that the argument

That who is willing to take on the big fights when no one else will take them on, who is willing to take on the powers that be when other people are shrinking from the fight? That’s a hard argument to make to distinguish yourself from Donald Trump in the eyes of Republican primary voters,

That if you’re Donald Trump, I hear that argument and think like he’s trying to play my song and he’s not playing as well as I do. Yeah, you get the last word on. Okay. Well, you know, Trump got some of the endorsements. The dissenters do anything positive during the trip here.

I will say, I’ve talked to some members who say once he does endorse, we are expecting more endorsements to come out. As you pointed out, he is not an official candidate, but he’s got have some work to do. Trump is trying to outmaneuver him. He’s living for this moment

And he is trying to one up the governor at every chance.

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