Trump calls Florida a ‘great place’ hours after his campaign derides it as one of the ‘worst states’

Former President Donald Trump on Friday lauded Florida as a “nice state” and a “excellent place” hours after his marketing campaign blasted the Sunshine State as one of many “worst” within the union. 

“I’m thrilled to be right here with the proud, hard-working patriots of the good state of Florida. It’s a terrific state. Good spot,” Trump advised an viewers throughout remarks on the Lee County Lincoln-Reagan Dinner in Ft. Myers. 

Trump, 76, went on to declare that the as soon as perennial battleground state is now solidly crimson due to him.

“The good state of Florida has been among the many most hotly contested swing states within the nation. However as we speak Florida is not a swing state as a result of we turned it right into a crimson state,” the previous president mentioned. 

Simply hours earlier than Trump’s speech, the forty fifth president’s 2024 marketing campaign spokesman Steven Cheung fired off a prolonged and blistering assertion decrying the Sunshine State as turning into “among the many worst states” beneath Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. 

“The true DeSantis file is considered one of distress and despair,” mentioned Cheung. “He has left a wake of destruction all throughout Florida and persons are hurting as a result of he has spent extra time taking part in public relations video games as a substitute of really doing the hard-work wanted to enhance the lives of the individuals he represents.”

The assertion goes on responsible DeSantis for a litany of points, together with a excessive cost-of-living in some components of the state, rising residence costs, costly healthcare prices and automobile insurance coverage premiums and fuel costs – prices which have gone up throughout the nation due to file inflation. 

The Trump marketing campaign additionally claimed that beneath DeSantis, Florida has change into one of many worst states to dwell, discover financial alternative, work, retire, elevate a household, pay taxes, be secure, lease a house, afford power and die. 

Trump, a Florida resident himself, steered away from lambasting his adopted residence state Friday, and didn’t point out DeSantis by title. 

The Florida governor is more likely to be his prime competitor for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination if he chooses to run, which he’s anticipated to do after Florida’s legislative session ends in Could. 

“In Florida, I bought 1.2 million extra votes than your profitable governor’s marketing campaign,” Trump boasted in his speech Friday, evaluating his 2020 presidential election vote whole in Florida to DeSantis’ vote whole in his 2022 re-election contest. 

In response to the Related Press, Trump obtained 5,668,731 votes in 2020 to DeSantis’ 4,613,783 in 2022. Nonetheless, voter turnout was far better within the 2020 presidential race, 77%, in comparison with the 54% of Floridians who went to the polls within the 2022 midterm election. 

Trump additionally touted his endorsements from Florida lawmakers on Friday, name-checking the 12 members of Florida’s congressional delegation which have thrown their help behind his 2024 marketing campaign – calling their backing “superb.” 

DeSantis has not obtained endorsements from any of the 20 Republicans within the state’s congressional delegation.