On Saturday, the Florida governor was criticized by the Trump campaign and the MAGA community for comments that seemed to call some of the previous president’s supporters “listless vessels.”
Steven Cheung: DeSantis goes full-blown Hillary and calls MAGA supporters “Listless Vessels”
Speaking about a DeSantis interview with The Florida Standard in which the GOP presidential candidate said that a strong conservative movement needed to be based on principles, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung wrote on X that DeSantis goes full-blown Hillary and calls MAGA supporters “Listless Vessels.”
In an article from POLITICO, a movement, according to DeSantis, cannot be driven by the ego of a single person. It won’t be a lasting movement if all we are is obedient vessels who are merely expected to obey whatever happens to be posted on Truth Social every morning.
A super PAC that supports Trump also criticized DeSantis for his remarks.
The words’ allusion to Clinton refers to a moment during the 2016 presidential campaign when the former Democratic nominee referred to Trump supporters as “deplorables” because they had prejudices such as racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, and Islamophobia. She later pulled back those remarks after receiving backlash from Trump, claiming that she was referring to his campaign rhetoric rather than his fans.
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DeSantis: Some of Trump’s most important allies have a history of extreme left-wing liberalism
Bryan Griffin, a spokesperson for DeSantis’ campaign, said that the governor’s remark was directed at Trump and his congressional friends in a reaction posted to X.
Given the importance of Trump supporters in the Republican primary vote, DeSantis has often tried to walk a delicate line between criticizing the previous president and not alienating them in his effort to gain momentum against Trump.
Prior to calling people “listless vessels” in the interview, DeSantis rebuked Trump and his allies for their propensity to refer to conservatives who don’t toe their line as “RINOs,” or Republicans in name only. The governor claimed that some of Trump’s most important allies have a history of extreme left-wing liberalism.
The remarks highlight Trump’s propensity to criticize his foes on his platform, Truth Social. Following the attack on the United States on January 6, Trump was prohibited from using the platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Capitol, and since then, Truth has become his new online home.
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