Trump just got back on the campaign trail with a rally in Waco, Texas, a rally that by its very location showed the Deep State FBI that he stands ready to resist their predations and in which Trump showed his energy, humor, and charisma are back to 2016 levels.
At one point during the rally, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida took to the stage to call on potential Trump challengers, namely Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, to rein in their presidential ambitions and instead get behind supporting Trump. Watch him here:
WATCH: At the Trump Rally in Waco, @MattGaetz calls on Ron DeSantis and Ted Cruz to stand with MAGA and endorse Donald Trump for President.
Crowd erupts in a standing ovation. pic.twitter.com/APcdVwpZ6S
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 25, 2023
As you can hear in the video, Rep. Gaetz said:
“Only Donald Trump could have rescued us from Hillary Clinton. Without Trump doing three rallies in the final week in the 2018 election in Florida, my Governor today would probably be Andrew Gillum. How weird is that? And without Trump dragging Ted Cruz across the finish line, your senator would probably be beta Baito. So Ron DeSantis, Ted Cruz, patriots of the MAGA movement delivered for you in your time of need today, Ron DeSantis and Ted Cruz should endorse Donald Trump for president and stand with us as we were so proud to stand with them.”
The Tampa Bay Times, describing one of the 2018 rallies in which Trump rallied support for DeSantis and helped him win (DeSantis won that election by just over 32,000 votes), said:
Declaring himself the most popular Republican in the history of America, President Donald Trump revved up thousands of fans Tuesday night at a rowdy Tampa Bay campaign rally to help gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis and, above all, celebrate Donald Trump.
“This may be — in fact it probably is — the greatest movement in the history of America,” Trump told the overflow crowd of about 10,000 filled with red T-shirts and Make America Great Again caps.
“To keep it going we need to elect more Republicans. And we need to elect Ron DeSantis as your governor. … He’s going to be an incredible governor. I have no doubt, no doubt. I don’t do these endorsements easily.”
DeSantis, at that time, said, “I appreciate your support, Mr. President. But I appreciate more the leadership you’re showing for our great country.”
DeSantis has since done a soft turn on Trump and seems to side more with the Bush types than the MAGA types. Jeb! “Please Clap” Bush, for example, weighed in on the presidential race and sided with DeSantis, saying:
“I think it is. He’s been a really effective governor. He’s young. I think we’re on the verge of a generational change in our politics, kind of hope. So, I think it’s time for a more forward leaning future oriented conversation or politics as well, which has made him should he choose to run for president as serious contender in Republican politics. And who better to do it than someone who’s been outside of Washington who’s governed effectively, who I think has shown that Florida could be a model for the future of our country?”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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