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.

  • HandsHurtLoL@kbin.social
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    11 months ago

    Absolute lack of self awareness. Like, what does it mean if the criticism is coming from both the left and now the right about how blind the loyalty is to this orange fascist? Theyā€™re desperate to link DeSantis and Hillary, but donā€™t you think DeSantis also stands to benefit from conservativesā€™ blind loyalty. When even he is trying to be the wake up call, and they reject itā€¦ Good God.