Fed up with pro-2024 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump, Republican voters say the news is about his indictment It only increases their fatigue.
In conversations this week with people who voted for Trump in the previous election And DeSantis attended speeches in two key battleground states, Georgia and Pennsylvania, Republicans worried Trump could lose the general election if he were nominated again. They cited his temper, the “drama” surrounding him, his recent attacks on DeSantis, and the baggage of 2020 elections They are afraid to burden him in a general election.
Ashley Seiler said, “I love what he’s done as president. I’m not really happy with the way he’s acting after that. He’s very polarizing to our country. His time is up. And I hope he kind of enjoys retirement.” A resident of Marietta, Georgia, who went to see DeSantis speak in metro Atlanta on Thursday.
Wes Goudreau, also a Marietta resident who voted twice for Trump but leans toward DeSantis, said Trump wanted to file a potential indictment “because it would potentially give him a big boost in the polls.”
“I think it probably helps Trump a little bit,” Goudreau said of Trump’s indictment, hours before news broke that the former president would be indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan Thursday. “But this is just fringe news. Stick to the issues and stay focused.”
On Saturday, the Trump campaign said it had raised more than $4 million Since the indictment and exchange, an internal poll conducted Friday-Saturday has shown an increase in Trump’s lead over his opponents in the 2024 primaries.
DeSantis’ remarks in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and on Long Island on Saturday were his first public appearances since. Trump has been charged. Most of those present said they were angered by the indictment and did not agree with it, applauded when DeSantis called it “flimsy” and criticized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
After Trump first He claimed he would be arrested Earlier this month, DeSantis slammed Bragg but shot Trump in the head with the remark: “I don’t know what it takes to pay a porn star hush money to ensure silence about some sort of alleged relationship.”
In March, Trump began to ramp up his attacks on DeSantis, who he sees as “aprobablyhis biggest challenger in the 2024 primary. He posts frequently about DeSantis on his social platform “Truth Social,” attacking his past support for Social Security and Medicare reform, claiming he drank with underage students when he was a teacher in Georgia and mocking DeSantis for asking His endorsement of his run for governor in 2018.
said Debbie Dooley, an ambassador for the group Veterans for Trump gathered in the parking lot outside DeSantis’ event in Georgia.
Dooley was a fan of DeSantis, writing his name for governor in the 2022 primary and general elections. But Thursday in Georgia, she wore a T-shirt that said “ULTRA MAGA” and brought out a temporary poster showing news clips of Trump’s attacks on DeSantis. “He’s a fake, and he’s a fake,” Dooley said of DeSantis.
DeSantis isn’t yet a candidate, but he’s been visiting or planning early presidential primary states like Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. He is expected to launch an official campaign after the Florida legislative session ends in early May.
Voters who lean toward DeSantis said they were put off by Trump’s early attacks.
Melvin McDowell, a retired attorney and former member of the Pennsylvania Republican State Committee who attended DeSantis’ event in Harrisburg, said he was “really upset” by Trump’s mockery of DeSantis.
“His style at this point is a handicap, electorally speaking,” McDowell said. “I think President Trump, despite all he’s accomplished in the past, it’s time to make room for a stronger candidate.”
Zeiler called it “very vulgar,” and said she admired DeSantis’ restraint. “He didn’t throw any low punches, and that’s what I love about him, too,” she said.
Goudrow described DeSantis as “less controversial” than Trump. “Name-calling was kind of a problem for me,” he said of Trump’s attacks.
“He’s famous for that,” Goudreau said of Trump. “During the last primaries, everybody had a surname. And it doesn’t have to be that way.”
Most voters who spoke with CBS News were going to see DeSantis speak for the first time. I like him a lot response to COVID In Florida, him Transfer of immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard From Texas and its culture war to its battles to integrate more parental involvement in education. But many of those present also said they didn’t know much about him personally yet.
“I’m impressed by what he did in Florida. He seems like a reliable candidate,” said Roger Hitchcock, a Georgia Republican who said he was open to other options in the 2024 races but his vote for DeSantis. “He’s losing it at this point.”
Christian Johnson, a 22-year-old Pennsylvania congressman, said he liked DeSantis’ speech Saturday and chose DeSantis in his convention poll because he believes DeSantis has “the best chance of delivering a hopeful message to the nation.”
“I think the magic of 2016 is over and I don’t think it can be repeated,” Johnson said. “I think the time has come for us to have a whole new picture of this country.”
Vin Gomez contributed to this report.
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