Thread by @Trump24Defender

🧵Why I Flipped From Ron DeSantis Back To Donald Trump

This may come as a shocker to some people considering the content of my account, but I was once a huge fan of Ron DeSantis and once preferred him over Donald Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination

It started around June 2021. After J6 and all that, I sadly bought into the narrative that Trump couldn't win. I didn't think Trump was at fault for it, but I did consider him at the time to be a long shot to win again. So, like lots of people, I took a liking to DeSantis.

I appreciated his early course-correction on lockdowns compared to other states and Governors. I appreciated his emphasis on parental rights and trans/womens sports, and the like, and I also liked that he was pro-life.

I also knew he and Trump were very close at the time, so I really did subscribe to the "Ron is Trump without the baggage!!" narrative. Everyone seemed to just love him and it appeared any baggage he did have was just overblown or made up by the media.

I still liked Trump, and sometimes flipped back and forth between him and DeSantis, but I mostly leaned toward DeSantis. Then after the midterms, with his re-election win (which he deserves credit for) I was pretty firmly in the DeSantis camp

A week after, however, Donald Trump announced his 2024 campaign. This is where, naturally, things started to shift back again.

First, Trump started bringing up that Ron voted to cut SS & Medicare and raise the retirement age to 70 multiple times. My main rationale for supporting RDS was electability. That alone was a big hit to his electability argument, regardless of what you think about those programs.

Then, I began to notice the DeSantis teams messaging points, as well as their shady shadow campaign. They insisted, without evidence or a coherent argument, that Trump locked down the USA in 2020 and gave up thr country to Fauci.

This made me think, "what?" I remember 2020. I remember Trump taking hest for things opposite of what Fauci wanted, like shutting off travel from China. I remember the reports of him undermining or ignoring Fauci. I also remember DeSantis praising Fauci and Birx at the same time

I remember the Trump Administration issuing recommendations, not mandatory lockdowns. I don't fault RDS for shutting down in early 2020 (it was a crazy time) but the gaslighting and lies began to turn me off.

Then, when the Manhattan indictment dropped, RDS issued a nasty remark about "not speaking to having affairs with a porn star" or whatever, ignoring the fact that Daniels herself denied any affair and using the the weaponization of our justice system as an opening for a cheapshot

His entire campaign has been focused on woke and Covid.
At the end of the day, what matters most to me is foriegn policy and the ecomomy. DeSantis hadn't even released an economic plan till July 31. Trump presided over a great economy and then a super fact recovery of 33.1% GDP.

I want to return to an administration that presided over a good economy and the ending of foreign conflicts. I'm glad Trump is pro-life and anti-woke as well, but the economy and foreign policy are the issues that habe the best chance to win over voters we need.

DeSsntis' flip flopping on Ukraine was a bit much for me. Plus, his campaign has been absolutely abysmal, and at times straight up homophobic. Painting Trump as some woke Democrat just because he vowed to protect gays from Islamic terrorists is stupid and abhorrent and dirty.

His support for the TPP and flip flops on tariffs show that he is not to be trusted on the trade issue. He now claims to want tariffs for leverage in new agreements, but Trump was already doing that.

He's insinuated Donald Trump isn't really pro-life despite Trump giving pro-lifers the biggest win we've ever seen : the end of Roe v Wade.

Trump always performs better against Biden and Harris nationally than DeSantis does, which effectively destroys the electability argument I once bought into.

I am against minors undergoing gender transitions. Personally I don't care if adults do it.
But DeSantis has been asking FL colleges to report to him hoe mamy trans students are enrolled. This is *college*. They are not minors.

In my view, he's gone a bit wacky on education too, which was one of his strong suits. He's floated doing away with the College Board in Florida (what will that do to Floridisn high schoolers who want to attend college out of state?)

He's been attacking AP Psychology courses for having information about sexual orientation. I hate to break it to you Rob, but sexuality is a part of psychology! But I guess someone delusional enough to think he'll win at 15% is not someone to go to for psych advice🥴

Back to the LGBT ad - I thought Ron was "DeFuture"? I thought he was supposed to bring in so many new voters? How is he going to do that? By alienating LGBT Republicans? Which will certainly alienate moderates at that point?

He literally insinuated that Donald Trump held him back in 2018 - despite using his book toncredit Trump for giving him desperately needed exposure.
We've all seen the polls. Putnam was winning by 17%, but Ron pulled ahead as soon as Trump endorsed him.

Backstabbing someone who made your career does make me question your integrity, sorry. Will he backstab the voters too?

He voted against the Wall in Congress. He claims it's because of some limited amnesty, but did he ever propose a new bill? We all know the border would be much safer and the wall would have been built much faster had Republicans got their act together.

He wanted desperately to make Puerto Rico a state. That would likely mean 2 more Democrat senators, effectively shutting the GOP out of a majority barring some miracle. But hey, Trump's the one who's got a culture of losing, right?

He got into a needless fight with Byron Donalds and other black Republicans over one line in the history text - despite said black Republicans endorsing the curriculum as a whole. He accused them of being Kamala-aligned. But I thought Trump getting into random arguments was bad?

His shills are nasty as fuck. Don't really need to explain that one.

And finally, he's just been cratering this entire year, largely as a result of these actions. He's now at 15% and Vivek may actually overtake him in a few months. I went back to Trump around January/February. I've been enjoying his policy videos....

Especislly the quantum leap plan. That plan needs to be put at the forefront everywhere - great way to cut into the Democrat advantage with young people and minorities. It's also avtually forward-thinking. DeSantis is focused on Covid and Fauci. DePast?

There are more reasons, but this is enough for today. I was once a massive fan of DeSantis and wamted him for 2024. And don't get ke wrong, he has done some important work in Florida. But he's alienated me and many others throughout these past 10 months. #Trump2024

One more thing - Trump has been POTUS before. He won't have to go thru a learning curve the same way RDS or any other new president would. This isn't the time for on-the-job training - we need someone who we KNOW can get it done. #Trump2024TheOnlyChoice