45th President Donald Trump has released his first television advertisement for his 2024 campaign, and it highlights the former glowing support he enjoyed from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The 60-second commercial features previous endorsements, appearances, and advertisements featuring DeSantis speak flatteringly of the former president. The examples range from DeSantis victory speeches to a campaign commercial where DeSantis read a Trump-themed story book to his children before bed.
“Ron DeSantis was struggling big time in his primary race for Governor of Florida,” the ad noted, claiming that DeSantis was losing by 17 points prior to Trump’s endorsement. Two days later, DeSantis took a lead, though the governor credits the swing to a public appearance in his book.
The ad includes an excerpt from DeSantis’ victory speech: “I’d like to thank our President for standing by me when it wasn’t necessarily the smart thing to do.”
“Unfortunately, instead of being grateful, DeSantis is now attacking the very man who saved his career,” the ad’s narrator accuses. “Isn’t it time DeSantis remembers how he got to where he is?”
The ad includes video from one of DeSantis’ own campaign ads, featuring the governor tout his closeness to Trump. In the ad, DeSantis is reading a book to his children. “Make America Great Again. Build the wall!” DeSantis gushes, “Then Mr. Trump said, ‘You’re fired!’ I love that part.”
That ad has mostly been scrubbed from the Internet, but remains on YouTube courtesy of the establishment media. It features First Lady of Florida Casey DeSantis describe her husband as an “amazing dad” before showing him read the Trump-themed book.
On Monday, on the same day the news broke that Tucker Carlson had been fired from Fox News, the Florida governor appeared on the network while in Japan and commented on his ongoing feud with Trump.
“Once the midterm election happened he started taking shots at me. I didn’t really do anything to do it, except do a good job,” DeSantis told Sean Hannity. “I’m happy to stand strong and do what’s right.”
DeSantis has yet to declare whether he will run for president, and some have speculated that he is waiting to learn whether the Florida legislature will modify the law to allow him to run for the White House while maintaining his job as Florida’s governor.
