I pity Governor RONALD DION DeSANTIS, whose mentor is threatening him as he faces the possibility of a landslide loss to former Vice President Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. From Forbes:
Trump Threatens To ‘Fire’ Florida Governor If He Loses The State In November
TOPLINE
President Trump on Friday said he would blame Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis if he lost the potentially pivotal battleground state in the presidential election and quipped about firing him – a statement that raised eyebrows due to Trump’s history of accusing Democratic governors of working to tilt the election against him.
KEY FACTS
“Hey Ron, are we gonna win the state please?” Trump askedDeSantis, a Republican and close ally, at a rally in Ocala, Florida, adding that if he doesn’t win “I’m blaming the governor.”
Trump said he would “find a way” to “fire him somehow. I’m going to fire him.”
The comment puts Trump in stark contrast with Democratic candidate Joe Biden, who said during an ABC News town hall Thursday that if he lost in November, it could signal “I'm a lousy candidate, that I didn't do a good job.”
It also comes as Trump has baselessly accused Democratic governors of “rigging” the election against him by expanding mail-in voting and maintaining stay-at-home orders, even claiming in December they pose a bigger threat to the election than foreign countries.
Florida stands as a surprising exception to Trump’s unfounded denunciations of mail-in voting as substantially fraudulent – he said in August that mail-in voting is “safe and secure” in the state because of its “great Republican governor.”
Trump made several other shocking statements at his rally, including encouraging supporters to chant “12 more years” instead of “four more years,” and calling on the Justice Department to investigate Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a common foil of his.
KEY BACKGROUND
Trump often makes similar statements of questionable legality at his rallies, including saying in September he would negotiate for a third term in office because he’s “entitled” to it. He also spoke about issuing an executive order to prevent Biden from becoming president at a rally in September, exclaiming, “You can't have this guy as your president."
CHIEF CRITIC
Biden said earlier this month he warned governors that their support for him could lead to retaliation from Trump. "I told some governors, don't endorse me, who wanted to endorse me," he said during a virtual town hall with the Amalgamated Transit Union. "Don't endorse me because you'll pay a penalty. You won't get what you need from the federal government in terms of COVID prep."
BIG NUMBER
1.4 points. That’s the size of Biden’s lead in Florida in the RealClearPolitics average. Trump won the state in 2016 by roughly that amount.
I am a news reporter covering politics and the 2020 election. I have previously worked for MSNBC and Chronogram Magazine. I attended Vassar College and the London School
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