The Trump campaign and MAGA world on Saturday blasted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for remarks appearing to label some of the former presidentā€™s supporters ā€œlistless vessels.ā€

ā€œDeSantis goes full-blown Hillary and call[s] MAGA supporters ā€˜Listless Vessels,ā€™ā€ Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung wrote on X, referring to a DeSantis interview with The Florida Standard in which the GOP presidential candidate stated that a strong conservative movement needed to be based on principles.

ā€œA movement canā€™t be about the personality of one individual,ā€ DeSantis said. ā€œIf all we are is listless vessels thatā€™s just supposed to follow, you know, whatever happens to come down the pike on Truth Social every morning, thatā€™s not going to be a durable movement.ā€

A Trump-aligned super PAC also blasted DeSantisā€™ statement.

ā€œTo Hillary Clinton, Trump supporters are ā€˜deplorables.ā€™ To Ron DeSantis, they are ā€˜listless vessels.ā€™ The truth is, Trump supporters are patriots,ā€ MAGA, Inc. spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. ā€œDeSantis must immediately apologize for his disgraceful insult.ā€

ā€œLooks like Ron DeSanctimonious just had his ā€˜Basket of Deplorablesā€™ moment,ā€ said Trump adviser Jason Miller.

The statementsā€™ reference to Clinton alludes to an episode during the 2016 election when the former Democratic nominee called supporters of Trump ā€œdeplorablesā€ that were motivated by ā€œracist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobicā€ feelings. After blowback from Trump, she later walked back those comments, saying that she was referring to his campaign rhetoric and not his supporters.

In a response posted to X, DeSantis campaign press secretary Bryan Griffin said the governorā€™s comment was aimed at Trump and his congressional allies.

ā€œThe dishonest media refuses to report the facts ā€” Donald Trump and some congressional endorsers are ā€œlistless vessels.ā€ Why? Because Trump and DC insiders feel he is entitled to your vote,ā€ Griffin wrote.

  • Jordan Lund@lemmy.one
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    1 year ago

    Scary that, depending on the poll, heā€™s 46 to 48 points behind Trump and heā€™s in the #2 slotā€¦

    • BarrierWithAshes@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Thereā€™s not really a republican figure who can challenge trump currently running. I think the only conservative who can realistically beat him would be Manchin, and hes a democrat.