The DeSantis campaign has laid off dozens of staff members as it attempts to ease the concerns of donors and streamline operations due to Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R-FL) lackluster performance in the Republican primary race thus far.
The campaign reportedly laid off 38 staffers, which DeSantis’s campaign manager, Generra Peck, described as part of the “aggressive steps” it has taken to “streamline operations” and boost the governor’s position in the polls.
“Following a top-to-bottom review of our organization, we have taken additional, aggressive steps to streamline operations and put Ron DeSantis in the strongest position to win this primary and defeat Joe Biden,” Peck said in a statement.
“Gov. DeSantis is going to lead the Great American Comeback, and we’re ready to hit the ground running as we head into an important month of the campaign,” she added.
Federal filings showed over 90 staffers on the campaign’s payroll as of June, per Politico.
This move also comes as critics have pointed to the DeSantis campaign’s lack of small-dollar donors. Donald Trump Jr. reacted to the preliminary news of the DeSantis team laying off staff due to money issues during an exclusive interview with Breitbart News at the Turning Point Action Conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, earlier this month.
He noted that DeSantis’s small-dollar donors were “almost non-existent, making up 15 percent of his take.”
“You can create a lot of personality with social media influencers, as they have done for the last two years sort of de facto running against [former President Donald] Trump. The reality is, in a Republican primary, like, eventually, you have to put that guy on the stage. And let’s just say, you know, once you get to know Ron DeSantis, you get to not like Ron DeSantis,” Don Jr. said, surmising that the “Never Trump billionaire donor movement” is behind what many view as the governor’s premature presidential campaign.
“I think that’s sort of the Never Trump billionaire donor movement, right? The people who you know, they say they’re for America, but you know, if they can get their widget for half a cent cheaper by getting it from China, that’s their guy,” he said.
“I think it’s pretty clear, as evidenced by the small-dollar donors — 15 percent of the entire take, right? So it’s all the billionaires; that’s who wants that because they want a president they can control,” he added, noting that his father is not beholden to those characters.
WATCH — Donald Trump Jr.: Never Trump Billionaire Donor Movement Largely Behind DeSantis Bid
Jack Posobiec, senior editor at Human Events, also discussed the state of the DeSantis campaign during an interview with Breitbart News at the Turning Point Action Conference.
“People point to the super PAC and say, ‘Oh, the super PAC’s got all this money.’ Ok, but his campaign burn rate is bad. And that’s bad because of the lack of small-dollar donors,” he said.
That 15 percent of small-dollar donations “means 85 [percent] are these high-dollar donors, which means you haven’t built out the infrastructure for that small-dollar base,” he added.
Exclusive — Jack Posobiec: DeSantis Campaign Made “Fundamental Misread of Republican Base”
The news also follows a leaked memo labeled as a “confidential friends and family update,” which detailed the DeSantis campaign’s plan to revamp itself, as DeSantis has struggled to gain on Trump in any significant way since jumping into the presidential race late May. Tuesday’s Morning Consult poll told that story, showing Trump with a 43-point lead in the GOP primary and DeSantis falling to 16 percent — a “weekly tracking low.”
“From what we can tell, pro-DeSantis efforts are currently and will continue to run a robust effort in Iowa, South Carolina, and New Hampshire, that includes paid media and field,” the memo stated, adding that the campaign will not dedicate resources to Super Tuesday despite identifying it as “critically important.” Instead, his campaign is focusing on New Hampshire and will “revisit this investment in the Fall.”