Tensions are rising and tempers are flaring among backers of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the governor’s presidential campaign continues to fail in its efforts to trounce former President Donald Trump.
Leaders of the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down super PAC reportedly met in November to discuss the dire state of affairs for the presidential hopeful, as former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley ramps up her efforts in Iowa and New Hampshire — dropping $10 million — in hopes of improving her standing in the polls.
While Trump has remained virtually untouched by his competitors, recent trends have been positive for Haley. The latest RealClearPolitics (RCP) average of polls shows Haley leading DeSantis in both South Carolina and New Hampshire, and she is gaining on DeSantis in the Hawkeye State — a place the DeSantis campaign has devoted a lot of resources to as of late.
Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley speaks at a campaign event, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, in Boiling Springs, South Carolina. (Meg Kinnard/AP)
In this meeting, Never Back Down leaders reportedly discussed Haley’s rise, but it resulted in what NBC News described as a “heated argument with longtime DeSantis confidant Scott Wagner while a small group of nine board members and senior staff were discussing budgeting.”
“You have a stick up your ass, Scott,” Never Back Down chief Jeff Roe reportedly said to PAC board member Wagner.
“Why don’t you come over here and get it?” Wagner allegedly shot back, standing up, as two board members reportedly restrained him.
“The interaction was relayed to NBC News by a source who was in the room,” the outlet reported, noting that there has been fighting between the PAC and members of DeSantis’s inner circle as they exchange blame on DeSantis’s waning status in the polls.
According to the outlet:
DeSantis and his wife, Casey, have been among those increasingly upset at Never Back Down’s leadership, according to two sources familiar with their thinking. And, after tempers flared at last week’s meeting, three close DeSantis allies — David Dewhirst, Jeff Aaron and Scott Ross — launched a second super PAC, Fight Right Inc., in part at their urging.
However, the DeSantis campaign has framed the new PAC as a good thing.
“We are excited to see even more backers stepping up to support Ron DeSantis’ candidacy,” DeSantis campaign Communications Director Andrew Romeo said in a statement, praising the idea of “adding new allies to the mix to independently help spread the governor’s message,” which he believes “will only strengthen our advantage in the important weeks and months ahead.”
The purported infighting comes months into DeSantis’s campaign, which has not seen his past efforts produce the hoped-for results, largely failing to dramatically improve his standing in the polls — both national surveys and those on a state level.
In October, DeSantis admitted that he disagreed with Roe’s call for the governor to defeat Trump in the “next 60 days,” asserting it was not a “very smart thing to do.” And despite the DeSantis campaign’s best efforts of reassuring donors, they do not appear to be buying it, with Republican megadonor Robert Bigelow — who once stood as the biggest individual donor supporting the Florida governor’s presidential campaign — switching lanes, identifying as “pro-Trump.”
Former President Donald Trump gives remarks at the South Texas International airport on November 19, 2023 in Edinburg, Texas. Trump took the stage shortly after Texas Governor Greg Abbott officially endorsed the former president for his 2024 presidential campaign. (Michael Gonzalez/Getty)
“I’m pro-Trump. Right now, I’m determined to remain on the sidelines for the time being to see how these prosecutions play out,” he said. “I have to be sure that he does not have a position where the prosecution has a path to send him to jail.”
