DeSantis still avoids attacking Trump on this issue

From: POLITICO Florida Playbook - Thursday Nov 02,2023 10:59 am

Nov 02, 2023

By Kimberly Leonard and Sally Goldenberg

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FILE - This combination of photos shows Republican presidential candidates Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaking at the Christians United For Israel (CUFI) Summit 2023 on July 17, 2023, in Arlington, Va., left, and former President Donald Trump speaking at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., June 13, 2023, right. | AP

Good morning and welcome to Thursday.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has been dialing up his attacks on Donald Trump as he grapples with the former president’s runaway lead in national and early-state polls.

He repeatedly slammed Trump for calling Hezbollah “very smart” and going after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the days following Hamas’ deadly attack on Israelis. He launched a “Trump Accident Tracker” in his team’s daily email blast and laced into his leading rival for relying too heavily on teleprompters. And he has continued to remind voters he could serve two terms, to Trump’s one.

But one vulnerability DeSantis has been avoiding: Trump's mounting legal troubles.

Even as three of Trump’s former attorneys pleaded guilty recently in Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis’ prosecution alleging efforts to overturn the 2020 election, DeSantis hardly said a word. Without addressing the substance of the indictments, DeSantis merely touched on them during an October campaign stop in Tampa, responding to a question about why Trump was out fundraising the GOP field by saying: “Where’s that money going to? Isn’t it going to a lot of lawyers?”

His team declined to comment on the news, including the guilty plea of Jenna Ellis, a former Trump attorney who could be asked to testify against him, who has since embraced DeSantis’ candidacy.

Trump is facing four separate criminal cases that include both federal and state allegations of election interference, hoarding classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and impeding the investigation against him, as well as a state court prosecution in New York stemming from alleged hush-money payments to adult film star star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election. At least two of the trials are scheduled to start early next year, right around the time when it’ll likely be clear who the GOP nominee will be.

Yet Trump is seemingly more popular with the base with each indictment. Republican politicians especially rallied around Trump after the FBI searched his Mar-a-Lago estate. The Florida case was widely condemned by the GOP as federal overreach and DeSantis and others panned it as a politicization of the Justice Department aimed at subverting the 2024 election. DeSantis has promised to fire federal law enforcement officials if he were to be elected president.

DeSantis’ decision to steer clear of using the indictments against Trump is emblematic of a problem he has run into throughout his five months on the campaign trail. He is wary of offending Trump’s loyal MAGA base in the hopes that he will inherit those voters if Trump exits the race. DeSantis eventually acknowledged Trump lost the 2020 election during an NBC interview in August, but has warned anyone asking that Republicans shouldn’t focus on the past.

— WHERE'S RON? Gov. DeSantis will be on MSNBC’s Morning Joe at 7:40 a.m. EST.

Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com

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... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ...

OPTING OUT — “Demand for gun training classes plummets after new permitless carry law,” by Fresh Take Florida’s Jack Lenmus. “As more people forgo basic safety and legal training, instructors say they’re concerned about the safety of communities — and the impact on their businesses. After the new state law went into effect, the number of people who applied for concealed carry permits — which are now optional and include hours-long classes on safety and legal issues — dropped by about 64% over the same three months a year ago.”

SUPPORTING ROLE — “Joseph Ladapo lauds DeSantis’ COVID-19 approach during New Hampshire event,” by Florida Politics’ A.G. Gancarski. “While Ladapo noted he had a ‘day job in Florida,’ he said he was ‘invited to come support a man’ that he has a ‘great deal of admiration for’ in DeSantis.”

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is shown in Hollywood, Fla.

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is shown, Friday, March 20, 2020, in Hollywood, Fla. The Seminole Tribe closed its casinos, the latest virus-related closures affecting a state that is heavily dependent on tourism and consumer spending to pay its bills. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) | Wilfredo Lee/AP Photo

ON A ROLL — Seminole Tribe to bring back sports betting but only at its casinos, by POLITICO’s Gary Fineout. The Tribe also said it will bring craps and roulette — which were also allowed under Florida’s multibillion-dollar gambling deal with the Tribe — to its six casinos, which include the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood and Tampa. The decision by the Tribe comes a week after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to put a stay on an appeals court ruling that upheld the 2021 compact negotiated between the tribe and DeSantis as well as legislative leaders, such as then-Senate President Wilton Simpson.

BALLOT LATEST — Attorney General Ashley Moody tells state Supreme Court to reject abortion access amendment, reports POLITICO’s Arek Sarkissian. An advisory opinion filed Tuesday by lawyers for Moody asserts the language that voters would see on the ballot in next year's election fails to clearly define key terms, such as “viability” and “health.” The definitions, they argue, could be misinterpreted as a sweeping ban on almost all abortion restrictions, including those for late-term pregnancies that have been on the books for decades.

CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS — State economists are considering whether Medicaid could pay for abortions under a ballot initiative still in the works for 2024, reported Florida Phoenix’s Jackie Llanos. Economics are also weighing factors such as the “effect of declining birth rates on pre-K education and government health care coverage, the effect on the criminal justice system and potential revenues from people from other states traveling to Florida to get an abortion.”

GO INSIDE THE CAPITOL DOME: From the outset, POLITICO has been your eyes and ears on Capitol Hill, providing the most thorough Congress coverage — from political characters and emerging leaders to leadership squabbles and policy nuggets during committee markups and hearings. We're stepping up our game to ensure you’re fully informed on every key detail inside the Capitol Dome, all day, every day. Start your day with Playbook AM, refuel at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report and enrich your evening discussions with Huddle. Plus, stay updated with real-time buzz all day through our brand new Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here.

PENINSULA AND BEYOND

REDO — A new legal opinion from Moody could trigger Florida Atlantic University to scrap its search for a new president and start the whole process over, reports POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury. State officials have been tightlipped about the probe but are expected to give an update next week.

VIOLATION — State judge in Miami orders former Everglades Foundation scientist Tom Van Lent to pay $177K for the group's legal fees after he was found in contempt of court for erasing data on a laptop computer, reports POLITICO’s Bruce Ritchie. Circuit Judge Carlos Lopez ordered Van Lent to pay the costs, plus interest, after siding in a lawsuit with the Everglades Foundation, which has been closely aligned with DeSantis.

CAMPAIGN MODE

Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) is pictured.

Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) is seen outside the Republican Steering Committee meeting at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 9, 2023. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

MAKING FRIENDS — Rep. Vern Buchanan will host a fundraiser this month for the new House speaker, reports POLITICO’s Olivia Beavers. Buchanan, one of the wealthiest members of Congress, will host the event at his Longboat Key, Fla., mansion this month with the aim of benefiting Johnson's joint fundraising committee. Donors can pay up to $25,000 per person for a private dinner or the lowest price of $1,000 to attend the reception with some middle-tier options in between, according to a copy of the invite.

FIRST TV AD — The DeSantis campaign has a new 30-second spot that’ll air in Iowa starting today. “The 30-second ad contrasts DeSantis' leadership of Florida with President Joe Biden's tenure in office,” reports Katie Akin of the Des Moines Register. “It highlights DeSantis' efforts to bring Americans back from Israel, to recover after hurricane damage and his deployment of Florida troops to the southern border. The campaign initially reserved a $2 million ad buy, which would begin in mid-November and run through the Jan. 15 Iowa Caucus, then made an additional $320,000 buy to launch on Nov. 1 instead.”

NEW ALLEGIANCES — “Trump allies in the state are organizing an effort to flip Republican lawmakers from DeSantis endorsers to Trump,” report NBC News’ Matt Dixon and Dasha Burns. “Two sources familiar with the effort said as many as six could come out for Trump as early as next week. The move is scheduled to coincide with this Saturday's Florida Freedom Summit, which will feature all of the major Republican presidential candidates and shine a national spotlight on the state.”

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TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP

MAR-A-LAGO DOCS CASE — U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon on Wednesday floated a delay of Trump’s trial, report Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney. The trial is slated to begin on May 20, but Trump wants it postponed until after the 2024 election. If he wins the election, he likely could shut down the case as president. “I’m just having a hard time seeing how realistically this work can be accomplished in this compressed period of time, given the realities that we’re facing,” Cannon told lawyers at a Wednesday hearing in Fort Pierce, Fla. She made no immediate ruling on Trump’s bid for a postponement, but she sounded highly skeptical of claims by prosecutors that the case could be kept more or less on pace with the schedule she set in July.

DATELINE D.C.

IN THE RUNNING — U.S. Rep. Brian Mast is one of seven House candidates for House Republican Conference vice chair.

SOUTHERN DISTRICT COURT — “Biden nominates three to federal bench in Miami, including nephew of major Rubio donor,” by the Miami Herald’s Michael Wilner. Biden nominated corporate lawyer David Leibowitz. “The nephew of Norman Braman — a billionaire with a car dealership empire throughout South Florida — Leibowitz has been a top choice of Republican Sen. Marco Rubio for a seat on the bench ever since the Trump administration. Braman is one of Rubio’s most prominent benefactors.”

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ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN

BIRTHDAY: Former State Sen. Alex Villalobos

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