Former Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.) has no doubt that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) would be “far more dangerous” leading Donald Trump’s base and as president than the former president himself.
“He’s more savvy. He’s more coy. And he doesn’t have the pitfalls that Donald Trump does,” Jolly, who left the GOP in 2018, told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace on Tuesday during a discussion about rising tensions between Trump and DeSantis over potential rival 2024 Republican runs for the White House.
DeSantis used Trump to win the Florida governorship before stepping from the Trump shadow, and will run in 2024 “on this notion of the free state of Florida,” said Jolly.
The former lawmaker then explained why that’s a fallacy:
“Florida’s not free if your kids can’t be exposed to the full curriculum that would make them smarter and better-educated students. Florida’s not free if you can’t get a test or treatment for COVID. Florida’s not free if you don’t have access to the ballot box. Florida’s not free if you’re a voter … and you vote and by a majority, determined home rule and then Gov. DeSantis says, ‘I’m not going to let you do that’ and he kneecaps local voters.”
“Florida’s not free,” Jolly continued. “It’s a narrative that Ron DeSantis is very successfully selling, which is what makes him dangerous.”
“It’s Ron DeSantis’ narrative of freedom,” he added. “He’s really kneecapping democracy right now for people of Florida, and he will successfully do it on the national stage should he get to the White House.”