Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launches presidential bid as new-generation GOP leader, post-Trump

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis officially filed his candidacy for the presidency on Wednesday, making his intentions clear as he looks to secure the Republican nomination for the 2024 election.

He plans to make his official announcement on Twitter on Wednesday evening, as Twitter majority owner Elon Musk continues to build the platform’s live video capabilities. His advance video was previewed on Twitter on Tuesday evening.

The filing comes after months of speculation and hints from the governor, who has been touted as a potential frontrunner for the GOP ticket.

DeSantis, a staunch conservative, has been a prominent figure in Florida politics, serving as the state’s governor for a second term and previously as a U.S. congressional representative. He has built a reputation as a strong advocate for conservative governance, implementing policies that have garnered support from Republicans nationwide, and infuriated the Left. DeSantis has galvanized Florida into a Republican stronghold.

Presenting himself as an alternative to former President Donald Trump, DeSantis aims to appeal to those within the party who are looking for a new generation of leadership. With his candidacy, he hopes to energize voters who believe it is time to move on from the Trump era and embrace a fresh direction for the Republican Party.

In anticipation of his official announcement, a super PAC called “Never Back Down” was formed several weeks ago to support DeSantis’s anticipated bid.

To test the waters for his, DeSantis embarked on a nationwide book tour, strategically visiting key states to establish connections with potential voters and gain recognition on a broader scale. He was talking about points from his book, “The Courage to be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival.”

Former President Donald Trump, who remains a significant force within the Republican Party, has been relentless in his attacks on DeSantis.

Despite the constant jabs, DeSantis has refrained from engaging in a war of words with Trump, choosing instead to focus on his own message and vision for the party. The governor’s decision not to respond directly to Trump’s criticisms reflects a deliberate effort to differentiate himself from the former president and present a more measured and independent image.

While early polling indicates that Trump currently holds a substantial lead over DeSantis, the official entry of the Florida governor into the race may bring about a shift in the dynamics of the Republican primary. As the campaign unfolds, DeSantis will have the opportunity to articulate his policy positions and gain momentum among voters who seek a new direction for the GOP.

With his proven track record in Florida and his appeal to conservative voters, DeSantis is poised to challenge the dominance of Trump.

Other Republicans who have announced include former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, conservative commentator Larry Elder, tech entrepreneur and finance executive Vivek Ramaswamy. Also, long-shot Dallas businessman and pastor Ryan Binkley, not the same as the Ryan Binkley who is publisher of the Anchorage Daily News.

 

154 COMMENTS

  1. Ronnie is four years early. He should finish his job in FL and not try to be Sarah Palin……. A quitter. Trump will be the nominee. Democrats will have their own quagmire with RFK Jr, who will out Biden as a dementia-laden criminal.

    • No need. He re-wrote Florida law to allow him to remain governor while running for president at the same time. Unlike Sarah he can take on the dems on the national level while not abandoning his post.

      • Actually the Florida legislature did, but just in case he doesn’t win the presidency, we didn’t want to be forced to lose him as the best governor in the country. You understand.

    • Funny how people like yourself push the idea that Biden is a dementia laden idiot while at the same time saying his some kind of master criminal. You can’t be both.

      I agree, Trump will be the nominee and I predict he’ll lose in the general election because suburban white women won’t vote for him. I could easily be wrong but if I was betting, I’d put my money on that section of the electorate to decide who the next President will be.

      • Cman, in response to your stupidly disingenuous comment, it is the very height of denial of reality to try to claim that China Joe PotatoHead is NOT an obvious dementia patient. And that fact is in no way contradictory to his banal and evil and systemic corruption, probably much of which goes back to well before his full-onset dementia.

        Once again, you clearly and unambiguously mark yourself here as a radical leftist partisan, all your bilgewater about supposedly being ‘libertarian’ to the contrary. But rampant and consistent dishonesty, which you consistently display in this forum, is just another hallmark of the typical radical leftist extremist.

        • You’re more than welcome to not reply to my posts. I think you have an anger problem. You’re incapable of simply disagreeing with me without being insulting and it makes you come across as a petulant child. Again, feel free to ignore my posts.

          • No, cman, I will NOT ignore your posts, because my sense of honesty and justice demands that I respond to and challenge dishonesty, disingenuousness and arrogance — all of which you routinely display in your slimy posts here. Sorry, you are not getting off that easy, you malicious snake.

          • Mostly I just try to ignore Jefferson because he is as you say a petulant child with anger issues. But every now and then it’s sort of fun to engage with him. However, due to the repetitive nature of his replies and the fact that they are so lacking in creativity, I suspect that he uses ChatGPT to write them.

        • Are you making an equivalency between insanity and dementia? You do understand they aren’t the same thing, right?

      • Actually the Biden is a master criminal is more of a comment on the state of the news media as well as the Department of justice. There is plenty of biden actions that are questionable at best that are deliberately and systematically being ignored by both the news and the agencies responsible for investigating them. Tara Reid has a much more credible accusation of sexual assault than all of Trump’s accusers combined, but who knows her name? Same with abuse of power of the office. Video after video of Biden doing exactly what Trump was impeached for, but… nothing.
        .
        So, no. Biden is not a master criminal. He is a criminal that is not being investigated.

        • Well I’m sure House Republicans will get to the bottom of his vast criminal empire with a detailed, fact-laden investigation. Or not.

          • Irrelevant whether the Republicans investigate or not.
            The information and facts are out there. Trump may not be a perfect angel, but the current resident of the WH has demonstrated repeatedly in the past that he is worse.
            .
            Yet… nothing from the media, nothing from the DOJ.
            Weird…

    • Have you ever left one job for another?

      If you did, but your standards you were a quitter.

      The people of Florida elected this man knowing he was almost certainly gonna run.

    • What? Are you even an American citizen? The United States is circling the drain and Ron DeSantis is THE best hope to stop the hellscape of the Democrat’s fascist and communist totalitarism takeover before we descend into civil war. And you’re worried about DeSantis completing his governorship?? Go climb a fence and wave your puny RFK jr flag somewhere else.

    • ……..more fun to watch RFK Jr. and Dirty Joe Biden contest each other for “easy to understand.”
      ?

      • RFK Jr. is a non-entity in this race. If anything he’ll draw votes away from the most crazy fringe of the GOP who don’t believe modern medicine is a thing.

    • Indeed! Neither one of them is worth more than some odd entertainment. We need to find a real and serious candidate for 2028 right now.

    • It’s best not to get into a mudslinging contest with orange man. Let him be the one that gets dirty actually dirtier. Ron is an honorable man. Old school American. I know you probably don’t know what one of those looks like.

  2. The official campaign slogan of “Make America Florida” is a little irksome. It would be palatable as long as he scares away all the sodomites across the border. We’d be a much stronger nation under God and DeSantis than under the iron fist of social Bidenism and Satanism.

  3. He has indeed done great things, but I cannot trust this man. He literally flew to Israel and signed legislation documents without permission. What a snake.

  4. The newly-launched DeSantis candidacy has a big fat torpedo aimed squarely amidships, and on that torpedo is emblazened the phrase “Trump’s Ego”.

    • I’m convinced Trump would have easily been re-elected if he’d only done his job and stopped trying to win social media.

    • Most likely correct. Then again, I want my President to have an oversized ego. No good having a President with self esteem issues. (Jimmy, I am looking your way)

  5. I am “all in” for this fellow. Among other reasons it is time for this country to move beyond the aging stable of baby-boomers for leadership. The last two have not worked out well at all.

    • Well said. Boomers from both sides are destroying this country. The real problem is boomers fomenting political extremism with silly ideas like defunding police and supporting communists.

      It’s time to pick our 2028 candidate so we can avoid falling into the trap of political extremism from EITHER side.

  6. OMG YES!!! I’m so tired of mud-slinging…it’s time for someone who has the balls to do what needs to be done, yet is classy enough to get people on board.

    • I know, what Biden did to Tara Reid is a disgrace. And the fact that the media refuses to acknowledge it is hypocrisy defined. What ever happened to “Believe all women” and the Me Too! movement?
      .
      Oh… were you referring to Trump with the grabbing comment? Sorry, someone saying something is proof that the person said it, nothing more. Where are all the grabbed (against their will) vaginas? Names, dates, locations, or they did not happen.

    • He’s not a war hero, he was naval reserve lawyer. Nothing more nothing less. The guy can’t beat Donald Duck, how does he intend to beat Donald Trump?

      • He was a jag officer in charge of keeping seals out of jail. He previewed attacks to make sure they were legal. He was awarded the bronze star. Yeah, war hero. Fought with a pen instead of a gun.

        • A bronze star for what? Give me a break, how are you a jag off, as a reservist. Too bad if he does win, Florida will go down the crapper.

          • I just mentioned how he earned the award. Go back and try to read more slowly next time. Just because somebody is in the reserve doesn’t mean they don’t play an active role in a conflict.

          • Were you a jag? Were you in the military?

            Bronze Stars aren’t given away easily.

        • Masked Avenger, you are incorrect, bronze stars are given away easily. Anyone who served a certain period of time (I think 30 days, but am not certain) in Iraq or Afghanistan got one – no matter how far from the fighting you were. The bronze star means little unless it has a device.

  7. Let the voters decide. I just wonder if he waited too late to get traction. We’ll see.

      • He will still win by a write in campaign, if jailed. Gonna be tough to overcome a 30 point lead.

        • IF, and it’s not happening, Trump actually goes to jail, the Constitution has zero prohibitions against him running.

          It’s all down to the voters.

          If Trump tried to run a write in campaign he would never win re-election. Too many people want someone else, especially if the potential POTUS is behind bars.

      • No chance Trump will be in jail me thinks. Trump will be the next president of the constitutional United States of America, IMO.

    • I doubt he’s even registered for The selective service. He doesn’t sound to me like a patriot kind of guy but rather somebody living in the woods or underneath somebody’s porch that comes out yipping all the time and then when you throw a rock at them they go scampering back for cover.

      • There is no constitutional requirement to register for selective service that I am aware of. The whole “patriotic” thing has just been a ruse used against us by the elites that control our country. Yes, I bought into it hook line and sinker as did my dad and his dad. There will be no more in my bloodline as we have sent enough of our family off to wars that only benefit a few puppet masters.

  8. Follow the money coming to DeSantis! WEF & other Gloalist contributors. He’s already bought and sold & nothing will change in the Swamp.

      • The Conservative Treehouse website has been detailing who is behind DeSantis. I didn’t believe it at first, but it all makes sense now. Idk if I’m able to post links in comments, so you’ll have to search for the website.

    • I’m guessing you don’t know how politics work in this country in fact the world. You think you can just send out some mailers and get elected?

  9. I’m so torn. DeSantis seems like my best shot at a true republican candidate, but he’s trashing free speech and the Florida economy. Unfortunately, even with those transgressions, I think he’s my best shot at being accurately represented. I wish there was a 3rd, hybrid candidate.

    This next presidential election is a lost cause. Does anyone have ideas for a REAL contender that should start preparing for 2028? Republicans need to look further ahead, because focusing too much on the now allows us to be out-played. We need to start grooming our 2028 candidate for a solid run right now and quit being so reactionary.

  10. “Florida Governor Orders Statewide Lockdown…April, 2020 – Florida has now joined the list of states that are ordering residents to remain in their homes for all but essential activities to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.“ Haha…definitely…let FREEDOM ring! AND in 2022 after the truth about the scamdemic was undeniable “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said on a podcast episode that aired Friday one of his biggest regrets in office was not speaking “much louder” against the Trump Administration’s calls for lockdowns in the early days of the pandemic…” way to step up and take responsibility for the decision that YOU made, Ron. You can almost feel the finger pointing. Look into Ron the Freedom Fighter and find out for yourself before jumping on the DeSantis bandwagon just because Trump has an immature and big mouth. Ron might just be that Trojan Horse you fear will enter the race.

    • How long did those lockdowns last?
      Which States opened up before Florida?
      Which States had lesser restrictions during the panicdemic?
      .
      Asking for a friend.

      • Type this in your search engine: “states that did not lockdown during COVID” and tell your “friend” that ignorance isn’t really blissful.

          • As if that matters. What actually matters is that Freedom Ron locked the state down at all. If you can’t see that then you’re hopeless.

        • Lots of people who support personal freedom were fooled into thinking lockdowns and masks work.
          If you are using that as a yardstick, you are using a bogus measure.

    • PJ, then we have Trump who still touts his worthless ” Operation Warp Speed ” and claiming that he saved 100 million lives.

      Did Trump sellout or is the smartest guy ever just kind of dumb?

  11. Who best will keep us out of WWIII?

    Who best to get us out of a financial mess? (Ron has NO private sector experience.)

    Trump proved every critic wrong when they bloviated that he would take us into WWIII. Which Biden is actually doing.

    In 4 years Trump:
    1. Brought troops home and successfully was scaling down Afghanistan peacfully.

    2. Kept us out of global conflict, stopped the funding of Iran by Obama.

    3. Russia stopped invading Ukraine

    4. China didn’t steal Hong Kong and start going after Taiwan.

    5. North Korea began talks with US.

    6. And he lead the completion of THREE peace treaties between Israel and other Middle Eastern countries.

    No Thanks Ron, I want my kids and grandkids to not have to fight globalist wars. Trump24

      • Best way to avoid a fight is to be strong enough that your opponent is not willing to start one. An approach that Trump took, and so did Reagan. No other President in living history can make that claim.

    • Trump had private sector experience and he grew the size of government.

      For someone who said he only hires the best, and values loyalty, many of his hires were flameouts who turned on him.

      Point being, private sector experience has proven less valuable than someone who understands how government actually works.

  12. I will vote for DeSantis or Scott over Pres. Trump
    But I will vote for Pres.Trump if he is nominated.
    I like Scott a little better, but don’t know much about him.
    Somehow battling PRIDE & Disney, doesn’t seem very presidential to me.

    We need to vote to reclaim our public schools back from corrupt, evil teachers unions.
    If we don’t accomplish that, ALL is lost.
    VOUCHERS

    • You like Scott, but do not know much about him.
      Bad method to cast a vote.
      .
      However, Scott is a solid candidate, but not exactly the best choice for President. As a general rule, Senators do not make good Presidents. Recent history should be enough to demonstrate that.
      .
      Additionally, DeSantis is a lot more than battling PRIDE and Disney. Check into it. He may become your Number one choice for good reasons.

      • I will admit, I think the GOP needs a little more ‘color’ politically speaking, as our demographics change.
        Scott seems like an honest Christian, but you’re right about Governors having the better skill set.
        DeSantis/Scott as the GOP team?
        Sen Scott’s message of opportunity for ALL who want it, is very important to the GOP.

        • Please do not start thinking skin color matters. That is what led us to this current mess.
          How many people voted for Obama because “It is time for a young black man to be President” without actually asking what, if anything Obama ever did.
          .
          Qualifications, experience, and demonstrated success needs to be the bar, not skin color, gender, or whatever.

          • Well I know & agree, but Pres. Obama was a liberal Democrat.
            And Sen Scott is a Christian conservative (who I don’t know much about yet)
            Image, ability to speak well, ability to inspire others, ability to lead and (hopefully) honesty are all needed to WIN elections.
            Once in, if the President follows basic conservative principles and appoints other conservatives, things should improve, no matter skin color.
            BUT we have to win.
            Will a poc help the GOP win?
            Irish Catholics voted overwhelmingly for JFK …. how could they not have?
            It’s naive to think people don’t vote emotionally … many do

    • I am impressed with what I’ve seen out of Scott. But the question will be what are his positions and how does he do when the hate is turned on him full force.

    • George, you just contradicted yourself. You wrote,
      “Somehow battling PRIDE & Disney, doesn’t seem very presidential to me.
      We need to vote to reclaim our public schools back from corrupt, evil teachers’ unions.
      If we don’t accomplish that, ALL is lost.
      VOUCHERS”
      It is the corrupt entities and organizations like LGBTQWXYZ AND Disney that have corrupted our entire education system and are collaborating with the teacher’s union. I’m with you on vouchers and school choice, but we must stop brainwashing and sexualizing our children. Our schools are indoctrination camps, not places of learning.

  13. Yawn. It’s still Trump’s race until someone proves otherwise.

    All you DeSantis fans need to ask yourself one question. Will you vote for Trump if he wins the primary election? If not, then you are the reason RCV voting was invented. This push for DeSantis, even though he is 30+ percent behind Trump is a way to alienate enough Trump voters away from him to damage him during the general election. You remember this, right? Like having Nick and Sarah split the Republican vote in order to give us crazy mary.

    • Yup. If Trump wins the nomination, I’ll vote for him.

      Now back to you. Will you vote for DeSantis if he wins?

      • Of course Greggy will. He’s a uniparty, rino lover whom is ready for the WEF. Ready to own nothing and like it by 2030?

      • MA. Yes I will vote for DeSantis if he wins the nomination. Funny detail about Republicans vs dems in this race; the Republicans actually have two or three candidates that are qualified for the job. I’m still waiting for the dems to find ONE.

        • Not only that, but the DEI in the race is the GOP. 2 black, 2 Indian, 1 woman.

          The Dems have a geriatric with mental problems.

        • Pretty sure the Dems want Trump. They can beat him (again)
          Most candidates Pres Trump backed in the mid-terms did not win either.
          Food for thought.

    • Trump is the past, offers nothing new and is temperamentally and morally unfit to serve. I will not vote for him.

        • After having defeated your apparent choice at the polls in 2020 with an elderly man in serious cognitive decline, I suspect the Democrats are over the moon with the thought of doing it again. In general terms, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is insanity. Respectfully, time to move on.

  14. I like both Trump and Desantis for different reasons. I don’t really care which of them get the nomination. I don’t think either of them can get to 270, because there is no way to win the needed states out of a combination from PA, GA, VA, WI, NV, and AZ.
    Democrats have a lock with their absentee ballot machine/fraud and GOP pretends that elections are about electable candidates. So Biden is going to win by however many votes are needed.

  15. I do like DeSantis and what he’s done for Florida. It’s clear to see he is being funded to calm down the MAGA movement. Who is behind his campaign? He recently had a book deal. Who funded that? At least with Trump, we know what we’re getting. DeSantis feels a little like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

    • Some of the big bucks flowing to DeSantis may be coming from – speculating a bit – Elon Musk, the Koch family, Sheldon Adelstein’s family and Rupert Murdoch. Some of these folks have signaled that they will not be supporting Trump this time.

  16. DeSantis is so popular in Florida his uniparty handlers cancelled his campaign kick off in his hometown of Dunedin. The visual of GOP protesters outnumbering the handful of staff and handlers looks bad. Instead he will kick off campaign in other states. The Twitter intro failed too. And this puppet has the billionaire class supporting and funding him.

  17. Need to ask yourself who you want to be president, Biden or just about anyone else in the GOP. Then who would most likely beat Biden. I think that Trump
    may be the only person Biden could beat. If I were a Dem I would be promoting Trump and even crossing over in the primary to get him on the general election ticket. Then vote for Biden in the general election. Come to think about it, maybe that is what is happening in these polls that put Trump above DeSantis. Dems claiming to be registered republicans saying they would vote for Trump

    • Virtually every politician in the Republican Party are sell out frauds. It’s called the Uniparty. Ever notice no matter how many times we vote a Republican president/senate/house nothing changes?
      DeSantis is a globalist stooge. Leave him in Florida, although the Hispanics are seeing through his fake ways.
      The hatred scale against Trump indicates he is the only viable person for a functioning America. Trump must hire private security, appoint Flynn and actual patriots this time. The military must learn to obey presidential orders. The task is monumental to end the totalitarian usurpation of our Republic.
      Look at our so called Republicans in Juneau. Pathetic and sickening joke. More revolting than the Democrat rabble because they demean what a Republican should stand for.

    • Agreed 100%. The handlers and power brokers who control our political class puppets are not socialists. They are fascists. The merging of corporate and government to create wealth, control trade and innovation and create absolute power over the individual citizen. Socialism is the lie force fed on the disenfranchised public promising a minimal existence (bread and circuses) for accepting the unequal arrangement of existing in poverty, ignorance and subservience while surrendering control, national wealth and privilege to the inbred and incompetent elite.

    • I’m curious: exactly how did he “sell out”?

      To whom, when, and what are the specifics?

      • Lets put it this way, if Trump becomes president with a republican attorney general seated what does that do for the FBI, the CIA, Obama, Hillary, Comey, Pelosi and all the other stooges that were hell bent on putting trump in a meat grinder?

        • Based on Bill Barr’s experience and statements since serving as AG, Mr. Trump would have great difficulty in finding a credible person to serve as Attorney General. The other part about this is that Mr. Trump doesn’t listen to or follow legal advice and thereby compounds his problems.

    • Are you talking about the way that Harris blamed Biden for the apparent way that she was raised the way she blamed him in the debate? That seemed to work out pretty well for her. You know what they say about enemies in bedfellows and that sort of thing?

  18. For the sake of his children, I hope the engines on his campaign plane work better than his Twitter Space did.

  19. Something I’m curious about:

    If Trump does not win the nomination (it is his to lose at present), what will the only Trumpers do?

    Will they take their ball and go home?
    Will they support the nominee?
    Will they throw they vote to Biden as protest?

    • They will support the Republican nominee.
      Unlike the nevertrumpers, the average Trump supporter is an adult, who recognizes that the socialist… errrr…. I mean democrat party is going to destroy the country. Even a uniparty President that at least leans right is better than another Obama term. It is not about the individual, it is about the country.

      • I’m honestly not sure, but I hope you’re right.

        Trump brought a section of people into the electorate who traditionally didn’t vote. And these people tend to see him as Messianic.

        History shows cult voters follow the cult leader. One of the things that killed Hilary was the large numbers of black voters who came out for Obama then went home when he was done.

        I’m also afraid he’ll start yelling stolen election and suppress voters who believe him. He’s done that before.

        • You are absolutely correct, he got people to leave their trailer for the first time in years. He was also able to coax them to WDC.

        • It is about being an adult, and seeing past the public persona to the results. And, being adult enough to see the far reaching consequences of their actions.
          That is a life skill that neverTrumpers (and leftists) lack.

          • In fairness, it’s a skill lacking by damn near everyone these days.

            Thank you participation trophy parents and the organizations that catered to them.

  20. All of the Republican candidates have the same basic positions, the only differences are in the clothing and hairstyles.

  21. For all the claims DeSantis has “sold out”, can someone please provide legitimate (Gateway Pundit types don’t count) links to said sellouts?

    • I will be waiting for an answer to your question. The other version of this smear – and it is a smear in that it is made without any evidence at all – is that someone is a “RINO.” I often ask – “what does that mean” – and never receive an answer. I remember the “RINO” smear being used as far back as the mid-1980s to refer to anyone who wasn’t as conservative as James “Bo” Gritz. Gritz was a highly-decorated warrior (which I respect) but an absolute loon in the political arena. Ideological purity seems to be a disease mostly of the politics of the Right; never hear much about it on the Left, save for AOC and Uncle Bernie.

  22. Pull your head out of the sand cman. I have never heard anyone say Joe Biden is a “master criminal”. Master criminals dont get caught because they arent in partnership with an ignorant alcoholic son named Hunter who in a drunken stupor takes his laptop to a repair shop which he more than likely couldnt remember his password and leaves it there as abandoned property. Which happens to have enough incriminating evidence contained on the hard drive that would put any conservative behind bars for many years. No “master criminal” here just an ignorant lying self serving Democrat that the FBI and DOJ wants in the white house. Simple as that!

  23. Until we can fix our election system all this arguing does zilch. Trump and DeSantis can squabble and debate all they want, if elections aren’t cleaned up its Biden for a second term. 4 more years of Biden and handlers and this country is done.

    • That’s going to be a major hurdle. Mainly because the fight will need to be state by state. A big step will be to force the voting laws back to where the individual legislatures had them. Gee, like the laws say. Several of the states that had voting ‘issues’ were states where the governors changed the voting regulations even though the states laws prohibited that action. Just that would be a great start.

      • Part of the challenge is this should have been done in 2020, while it was a more easily winnable fight.

  24. Trump just called Lil’ Kim his friend. Do we really want a President that measures his successes by his grope count or the size of his Johnson? Consorting with thugs? If you say yes, what does that say about you?

    • He is a TV star, billionaire playboy from (liberal) NYC.
      He knows a lot of famous people.
      He is not a politician

    • What is the grope count there Greg?
      Exactly how many groped, when, and where.
      .
      Otherwise, you have as evidence, some guy bragging.

    • If one pays attention, our senate is full of people who publicly call their opposite number “my good friend” in the chamber, then everything but a child of God in the press.

      In the world of diplomacy, as in politics, there is a dance. You say things for the purpose of getting people’s attention more than actual solutions.

      That’s what the negotiations are for. The flattery gets them to the table.

      No one before Trump actually got a substantial dialogue out of Kim. And for a brief time got him to settle down without the threat of force.

      Often in this world we have to deal with countries and leaders we don’t like. But it’s better than the alternative. One of Biden’s main problems is his unwillingness to deal with people he doesn’t like- probably for not paying him off.

      To criticize Trump for knowing what to say to get Kim to the table is juvenile. It’s the same sort of attitude that gave us Biden to begin with.

      There is plenty about Trump to be critical about. Vapid flattery to get a despot to negotiate isn’t one of them

      • Very valid point there Masked.
        When a politician publicly talks about how another politician is a “fine outstanding individual who I respect deeply, the honorable Senator from…” it really means they despise them. Abhor actually.
        .
        If they refer to a fellow pol as “that knucklehead from …” they are talking about a good friend.

  25. I’m gonna pay attention to both of them. Positions matter. It will be interesting to hear different perspectives on issues.

    See which earns my vote. I don’t owe it to either.

  26. Elon Musk acknowledged that Twitter laid off too many people and had trouble organizing servers, 300,000 at one time is nothing to Amazon, FB or many other providers. Going from 7500 employees to 1500 in 6 months has consequences. Elon himself has mused more than once that he hopes some of the angry ex-employees will come back to work for him. Does not help that Elon is against remote work, a desire among IT workers

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