Trump Campaign Urging DeSantis Donors to Switch Lanes

The Trump campaign is urging Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s donors to switch lanes concerning whom they are backing in the 2024 Republican primary race, pointing to a memo featuring polling from John McLaughlin, which concludes that former President Donald Trump is gaining “strong majority support from Republican primary voters against any opponent” and leading President Joe Biden.

In other words, per the memo, Trump stands as the best shot of taking down Democrats in 2024.

The three-page memo, obtained by Politico, was reportedly sent to DeSantis donors and offers a peek into the state of the race.

It featured results of a survey of 1,000 likely general election voters conducted on behalf of Trump’s campaign and found Trump only growing in strength in the wake of his indictment at the hands of leftist Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The memo shows Trump leading President Joe Biden in a head-to-head matchup — 47 percent to 43 percent. The memo notes that the figures remain “virtually unchanged” from the March survey. In other words, the indictment had no negative effect, as other surveys have also suggested.

The memo also featured a chart listing several recent polls from the likes of YouGov, Trafalgar, Yahoo News, Fox News, Reuters, and more. In every poll listed, Trump leads the hypothetical 2024 Republican primary field with double-digit support. More specifically, the latest Reuters poll showed Trump up 29 points over DeSantis and the governor dropping into the teens.

“Any reputable poll now shows Republican primary voters are appalled, angry and are unifying behind President Trump in his nomination,” the memo reads, explaining that voters and reported donations to the Trump campaign are “increasing exponentially.” Indeed, the Trump campaign saw $4 million in donations in the 24-hour period following the announcement of the indictment, and one-quarter of those donations came from individuals who have never given to Trump.

“The average contribution is $34. … It’s regular people. It’s small-dollar donors,” Trump adviser Jason Miller told Breitbart News Saturday last weekend. He added:

For a quarter of these to be brand new people, that to your point, Matt, these are the Democrats and the independents, who always thought, “Man this is — you know, I like what Trump’s doing. Maybe sometimes I listen to the media too much,” or say that, “You know, I get swayed by them.” But these are people saying, “You know what? Enough is enough. Enough of the rigged system, the partisan witch hunt. I’m gonna go and make my voice heard for President Trump.”

Republicans, the memo continues, are rallying behind the former president. Further, the McLaughlin & Associates polling data shows Trump leading DeSantis by 33 percent in a head-to-head matchup as well.

The memo also points to a recent Saint Anselm poll showing Trump leading DeSantis in a multi-candidate field in New Hampshire by 13 percent.

The memo found 57 percent agreeing that Biden and the Democrats are “spending too much time and resources going after Donald Trump with phony political attacks that are a waste of time and taxpayer dollars instead of trying to solve the country’s real problems on issues like the economy, inflation, crime, immigration, and national security.” Further, the memo found likely voters viewing the indictment as “rigged against President Trump.”

Per the memo, “Only 37% say President Trump can get a fair trial in Manhattan while 47% say it will not be a fair trial. Among Republican primary voters, only 18% say that Trump can get a fair trial in Manhattan versus 72% who say it will not be a fair trial.”

“The unprecedented effort by Biden, Bragg, and the radical left to indict President Trump has created a historic surge from Republican voters to support President Trump as their nominee to beat Joe Biden,” the memo’s conclusion reads.

The Trump campaign told donors that the memo clearly demonstrates “the President’s huge numbers and Governor Ron DeSantis’ collapsing numbers.”

“Now is the time to demonstrate your support and join” Trump, the campaign said.

The memo comes weeks after an NBC News report, which asserted that DeSantis donors and supporters were having second thoughts about the governor’s potential 2024 presidential bid, fearing an ugly battle with the former president.

DeSantis, who has yet to reveal his presidential aspirations, rubbed many conservatives the wrong way after initially dismissing the then-rumored indictment of former President Donald Trump as a nonissue. However, when the official news broke, he appeared to learn from the initial misstep, making it quickly clear that the state would “not assist in an extradition request.” However, he did not mention Trump’s name in that particular statement.

Trump’s strong standing in the polls is not deterring everyone from publicly backing DeSantis for president, however. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) has endorsed DeSantis, and Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie endorsed the governor this week, urging the GOP to “pick a proven energetic leader who can get us there.”

“Let’s choose Ron DeSantis for President,” he added.

However, Trump endorsements are piling up with Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) serving as the latest major endorsement of the former president:

Meanwhile, the Florida governor has the backing of the pro-DeSantis “Never Back Down PAC,” launched by former Trump adviser Ken Cuccinelli.

In March, pro-Trump super PAC Make America Great Again Inc. filed an ethics complaint against DeSantis, accusing him of engaging in “illegal conduct” by running a “shadow presidential campaign.”