signs and some insights. We come back. run out call now. If
circumstantial evidence pans out
this is week Governor Ron
DeSantis files paperwork and
officially becomes a candidate
for President of the United
States with some major donors
invited to this hotel Brickell
to do some fundraising him late
in the week we’re thinking
Wednesday may be the day the
launches his Republican primary
after a decisive state
re-election and as a force
behind some of the most
conservative state laws in
recent history. We’ve been
talking about and also in the
crosshairs of former president
Donald Trump covering both for
years is one of Florida’s most
insightful reporters. Marc
Caputo is now national political
reporter at The Messenger a
brand new nationwide publication
. Mark, welcome back to this
week in south Florida. We’ve
missed you okay you’re audio is
kind of weird so. Let’s tweak
the microphone a little because
because I know you got a lot of
I don’t know if we can do
anything about that. Oh, okay
sounding better already. Well,
welcome to blame. We will blame
Comcast for this. All right. So
let’s start let’s start here the
are all there is there any
reason to think the governor
will not finally this week he’s
going to file this week he
essentially has to so on
Wednesday he’s assembling donors
to come to the Four Seasons.
He’ll probably either go there
or chime in a remote message,
probably make some sort of kind
of soft launch announcement on
Thursday say they’re going to
have breakfast going political
briefing and then donors and
fundraisers are going to hit
phones raising for the campaign
in order to raise money for the
campaign, you actually have to
have a campaign. You need a
campaign account. And so that’s
it’s going to happen before
that. So we’re thinking maybe
Tuesday, by Tuesday, see an
actual official filing.
Wednesday, you’ll see a kind
some sort of official
announcement from DeSantis. And
then Thursday, it’ll become
quite clear. That’s official
because I’ll have an account
incidentally. DeSantis has
probably been or has been an
official candidate since May
15th, since last Monday, because
that’s when his officially moved
into an office and under federal
law, you spend more than $5,000
to further a candidacy you have
15 days to officially file the
paperwork for your candidacy.
What become a candidate at that
moment and so you know you go
right and so everybody has been
hit to me is such a genius
because everybody has been
talking about it he’s been
dominating the airwaves. Will he
win? When will and that’s we’re
carrying message we the
collective media the message
that he needs carried that’s you
know it’s pretty smart I guess
his campaign’s part to wait.
Well yeah I mean consider
they’ve allowed the message to
be totally dominated by Trump up
until this point. Sure I’m not
sure that balances it out. If
you look at what’s happened in
all of the surveys, the early
states and nationwide, it’s been
pretty bad for Donald, for me.
Ron DeSantis Donald Trump has
opened up quite lead over him.
It’s early but this is the time
of campaign where the middle a
campaign is really tested and
where campaigns kind of be won
or lost early on and not later
on. But yeah so let’s let’s a
poll of young people. Of course.
Of course. So let’s let’s talk
early on because. I guess the
question now becomes, will play
in Peoria and, not Peoria, but
the first caucus, the first
primary states. He was in Iowa
the first caucus. He’s in New
Hampshire the first primary
state. It looks like that’s of
where his focus is going to be
right up front is. That jive
with what you’re seeing. Right.
I did a story about that about
his kind of Iowa Field of Dreams
is he and basically else who is
in or is going get into the
Republican primary for president
realizes that Trump is in such a
strong position that in order to
win they need to stop him from
gaining, stop Donald Trump from
getting in Iowa. The only
candidate right now. Who appears
to have the organization, the
money and the poll numbers to do
that is Ron DeSantis. So going
to put a lot of chips into Iowa
and then in New kind of a
classic strategy a while though,
people were saying, oh, he might
take this unorthodox path. But
the reality is his presidential
are a number of election years a
series of four and the four
early states if you wind up
losing the first Tuesday states
especially in the Republican we
haven’t seen it since 1976. You
will not become the nominee. So
We’ll see what happens. That’s
going to start in January. So
What do you think about not only
the messaging but the actual
effect of last legislative
session? I mean it is been
national news. There’s really no
one engaged in national politics
does not know the powerhouse
that Ron DeSantis has been in
the legislative session and all
the conservative and swing to
the right things that have come
out of there be it the abortion
in education and immigration and
even the fight now with Disney.
I mean that is hugely energizing
for a conservative base. But how
how do you think that will play
nationally. Well, the Republican
primary quite well he’s he’s
firmly run in us is firmly in
line with where Republicans. The
question is do they like him
more than Donald for president.
Right The answer to that
question is no. But this is what
campaigns are for. He to make
the case to Sanders still a
governor. He’s not really in the
minds of many unofficial
presidential once a year. Once
he once any excuse goes away
only he’s not a candidate yet.
I’ll wait until he’s a
candidate. You’ll say. Well,
we’ll see. And that’s going to
start Wednesday or and from that
point on, the rubber’s really
going to get the rubber. What do
you about this fight with Disney
in the context of the business
community? I mean, the
governor’s office, this as soon
as the plug was pulled, the
billion dollar project at Lake
Nona, 2000 jobs or so. I mean
that was a real we took as up
here’s the other shot across the
but the governor’s office right
away came out and said hey you
know Disney was cutting anyway
why would think this has
anything to do with the governor
but how do you think this fight
with Florida’s biggest employer
plays with the larger corporate
community that’s so well but at
the same time DeSantis been
making the case hey we did this
even though he’s kind of
admitting retaliation, he’s
denying it. It is that the state
did this and took away the
special benefit, this taxing
district, because Disney was
essentially the tax benefits of
that and then engaging in
political speech. And it’s a
difficult argument to make, but
at the same time, we’ve heard a
lot of tough from corporate
America about like, oh, we don’t
like this from Republicans and.
Then they sort of roll over and
Finance Republic. It’s a great
example of that is what happened
on January six of 2021. There
are a lot of there’s a pro-Trump
mob had sacked the Capitol for
the first time. You know the
Capitol been sacked since the
war of 1812 and corporate
America said, we’re not going to
finance these Republicans who
voted to overturn the election
results. And then did so the
degree to which you can believe
how firmly they’re going to
stand principle when Republicans
are carrying more of their
agenda. We’re going to see up is
and down is up and here we go
again i know you don’t like Zoom
and I promise time you’re with
us and we’ll be live here at the
table because. I hope you’re
with us a lot this election year
. I always value being with you
for a few minutes. Thanks I’ll