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Former Republican Rep. Joe Walsh said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is in quite the bind in his challenge to former President Donald Trump for the GOP nomination.
DeSantis declared his candidacy on Wednesday in a glitch-ridden announcement on Twitter Spaces. Trump has been hammering DeSantis in recent months in anticipation of the governor’s announcement. While DeSantis largely ignored the attacks, he has started hitting back at the former president, who leads the governor and the rest of the GOP field by a wide margin.
On Friday’s CNN Tonight, John King asked Walsh if it’s possible if DeSantis can cast himself as a more right-wing version of Trump.
“Can you beat Trump up – essentially say, ‘I’m better than the original?’” King asked.
“Oh, John, God no, God no,” Walsh answered emphatically. “DeSantis has zero personality, charisma. Say what you want about Trump, but he’s got personality. And that’s the thing, John. Republican base voters love Donald Trump. It’s got nothing to do with policy. It’s not policy-based. You can’t attack Trump on policy. It’s all personality. He’s the victim. He’s the bully. DeSantis can never outdo that.”
Walsh went on to say the governor is in a tough spot because of a potential federal indictment of the former president. Usually, being indicted while running for office is typically frowned upon, but Trump
“And John, Desantis is trapped,” he said. “Ron DeSantis cannot say that the 2020 election was not stolen. He can never say that or he’s done. And when Donald Trump is indicted again, Ron DeSantis is going to have to say, ‘Witch hunt’ or something like that, or he’s done. But he can never yell, ‘Witch hunt’ as loud as Donald Trump. It’s almost an impossible road.”
Special Counsel Jack Smith is reportedly wrapping up his investigations into Trump, which include a probe into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Smith has also been examining Trump’s retention of classified documents that the former president improperly took with him upon leaving office.
Watch above via CNN.
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