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AlterNet: Trump-endorsed right winger takes a shot at Ron DeSantis as he hits the campaign trail
AlterNet - Trump-endorsed right winger takes a shot at Ron DeSantis as he hits the campaign trail
Mitch Perry,
Florida Phoenix
May 13, 2025
Although he’s already been endorsed by Donald Trump for governor, Southwest Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds is just now beginning to introduce himself to Floridians who don’t know much more about him other than his ubiquitous appearances on cable news over the past few years.
Speaking on the back of a small flatbed truck outside of Conservative Grounds, the MAGA-flavored coffee shop in Pinellas County on Saturday afternoon, Donalds was intent on responding to a criticism voiced by Ron DeSantis earlier this year that he “hasn’t been part of any of the victories” that Republicans have enjoyed in Florida in recent years.
“A lot’s been made about what I’ve been doing the last couple of years,” Donalds acknowledged about halfway through his 22-minute speech. He said the choice before him a year ago was whether he should stay in Florida and work for GOP candidates or “do I go on the road with Donald Trump and campaign to make sure that we save the United States of America?”
He said that, after conferring with his wife Erika and his team, he went all in for Trump.
“I told the president and I told his campaign, I said, ‘Listen: You can have the entire calendar. Just take it. It’s yours,” he said.
/snip
Mitch Perry,
Florida Phoenix
May 13, 2025
Although he’s already been endorsed by Donald Trump for governor, Southwest Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds is just now beginning to introduce himself to Floridians who don’t know much more about him other than his ubiquitous appearances on cable news over the past few years.
Speaking on the back of a small flatbed truck outside of Conservative Grounds, the MAGA-flavored coffee shop in Pinellas County on Saturday afternoon, Donalds was intent on responding to a criticism voiced by Ron DeSantis earlier this year that he “hasn’t been part of any of the victories” that Republicans have enjoyed in Florida in recent years.
“A lot’s been made about what I’ve been doing the last couple of years,” Donalds acknowledged about halfway through his 22-minute speech. He said the choice before him a year ago was whether he should stay in Florida and work for GOP candidates or “do I go on the road with Donald Trump and campaign to make sure that we save the United States of America?”
He said that, after conferring with his wife Erika and his team, he went all in for Trump.
“I told the president and I told his campaign, I said, ‘Listen: You can have the entire calendar. Just take it. It’s yours,” he said.
/snip