Twitter Spaces have not been kind to Ron DeSantis lately. In a recent Twitter Space, a prominent spokesperson for DeSantis' PAC delivered a remarkably pessimistic evaluation of his odds against former President Donald Trump. Additionally, DeSantis' glitch-ridden campaign launch on Elon Musk's live audio service back in May was met with widespread ridicule.
In a Twitter Spaces chat moderated by @CryptoLawyerz, an unnamed right-leaning account that claims to be an attorney and has experience working at the Department of Justice, Never Back Down PAC spokesman Steve Cortes "got pretty blunt" and was "sounding a decidedly dour note" on DeSantis' ability to defeat the former president in the GOP presidential primary.
I'll be the first to admit that we are currently far behind in national polling, Cortes said. "I think being direct and honest is important. Although the going is tough, Donald Trump is unquestionably the front-runner.
DeSantis' campaign was the "clear underdog," he continued, and in the crucial first four primary states, "where polls are much closer, we are still clearly down." We need to work because we are down by double digits.
Cortes, who worked on the Trump campaigns in 2016 and 2020, expressed some optimism that DeSantis could overtake Trump as he continued to campaign, but so far, the polling data has not indicated many encouraging trends for the Harvard Law alum.
According to the FiveThirtyEight polling average, Trump completely destroys DeSantis on the national level, outperforming the governor 51.8% to 23.5%.
Trump is currently leading in the most recent polls in Iowa (51% to DeSantis' 19%), South Carolina (41% to DeSantis' 18%), New Hampshire (47% to DeSantis' 19%), and Nevada (52% to DeSantis' 22%).
Late in June, Saint Anselm College conducted a poll in New Hampshire, and the results were particularly discouraging for DeSantis. Not only has he failed to gain any ground against Trump, but he's actually lost 10 points since their late March poll as other recent contenders for the GOP nomination gained (former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie all gained ground).
DeSantis' fight with Disney hasn't seemed to sway New Hampshire voters either, with 53% of all voters saying he was "unfairly targeting an important employer for political gain." DeSantis received support from 65 percent of GOP voters on the Disney issue, but it was a total dud with Democrats and independents (89% and 54%, respectively), demonstrating the toxicity it presents in a general election.
Cortes did find some cause for optimism during Sunday's Twitter Space, but not for DeSantis personally. Instead, Cortes predicted that the primary fight would make Trump a "better" and more competitive general election candidate.
I didn't sign up for this to finish second, so I have every intention of winning. But even if we lose, Cortes promised, "We will make President Trump better for having this kind of primary."
Cortes also praised Trump's performance on the debate stage, speculating that if Trump follows through on his threat to skip the first RNC-hosted debate next month, it might be advantageous for DeSantis:
He asked, "Is Ron the debater that Trump is?" "He's not," I said.
"There is no question that Donald Trump is the maestro of it right. There is no doubt that he debates like Jack Nicklaus played golf when he is on the debate stage and standing in front of a microphone, Cortes said.
In a Twitter Spaces chat moderated by @CryptoLawyerz, an unnamed right-leaning account that claims to be an attorney and has experience working at the Department of Justice, Never Back Down PAC spokesman Steve Cortes "got pretty blunt" and was "sounding a decidedly dour note" on DeSantis' ability to defeat the former president in the GOP presidential primary.
I'll be the first to admit that we are currently far behind in national polling, Cortes said. "I think being direct and honest is important. Although the going is tough, Donald Trump is unquestionably the front-runner.
DeSantis' campaign was the "clear underdog," he continued, and in the crucial first four primary states, "where polls are much closer, we are still clearly down." We need to work because we are down by double digits.
Cortes, who worked on the Trump campaigns in 2016 and 2020, expressed some optimism that DeSantis could overtake Trump as he continued to campaign, but so far, the polling data has not indicated many encouraging trends for the Harvard Law alum.
According to the FiveThirtyEight polling average, Trump completely destroys DeSantis on the national level, outperforming the governor 51.8% to 23.5%.
Trump is currently leading in the most recent polls in Iowa (51% to DeSantis' 19%), South Carolina (41% to DeSantis' 18%), New Hampshire (47% to DeSantis' 19%), and Nevada (52% to DeSantis' 22%).
Late in June, Saint Anselm College conducted a poll in New Hampshire, and the results were particularly discouraging for DeSantis. Not only has he failed to gain any ground against Trump, but he's actually lost 10 points since their late March poll as other recent contenders for the GOP nomination gained (former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie all gained ground).
DeSantis' fight with Disney hasn't seemed to sway New Hampshire voters either, with 53% of all voters saying he was "unfairly targeting an important employer for political gain." DeSantis received support from 65 percent of GOP voters on the Disney issue, but it was a total dud with Democrats and independents (89% and 54%, respectively), demonstrating the toxicity it presents in a general election.
Cortes did find some cause for optimism during Sunday's Twitter Space, but not for DeSantis personally. Instead, Cortes predicted that the primary fight would make Trump a "better" and more competitive general election candidate.
I didn't sign up for this to finish second, so I have every intention of winning. But even if we lose, Cortes promised, "We will make President Trump better for having this kind of primary."
Cortes also praised Trump's performance on the debate stage, speculating that if Trump follows through on his threat to skip the first RNC-hosted debate next month, it might be advantageous for DeSantis:
He asked, "Is Ron the debater that Trump is?" "He's not," I said.
"There is no question that Donald Trump is the maestro of it right. There is no doubt that he debates like Jack Nicklaus played golf when he is on the debate stage and standing in front of a microphone, Cortes said.
