Here’s Why Trump Was Snubbed By A Major Conservative Event Headlined By DeSantis

Here’s Why Trump Was Snubbed By A Major Conservative Event Headlined By DeSantis


Topline

Two mainstays of the American conservative movement are hosting dueling events this week headlined by the GOP’s top presidential contenders, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaking at a Club for Growth donor event and former President Donald Trump appearing at the American Conservative Union’s CPAC, exposing a messy fissure between Trump and his former allies at the powerful Club for Growth.

Key Facts

Trump, who was once closely aligned with the fiscally conservative Club for Growth, was shunned from the invite list to its annual private donor retreat in Palm Beach that kicks off Thursday, following a heated dispute that began during last year’s Republican primary races.

The relationship publicly unraveled when Trump and the Club for Growth backed opposing candidates in the Ohio GOP Senate primary race, with Trump endorsing J.D. Vance, who would go on to win the election, and the Club for Growth backing Josh Mandel.

After the group declined Trump’s request to take down an attack ad against Vance, Trump reportedly told the group’s president, David McIntosh, to “go f*** yourself” in a text message sent through an aide.

Trump and the club were also on opposite sides during the GOP primary race for a Senate seat in Pennsylvania: The anti-tax organization backed hard-right radio host Kathy Barnette, while Trump endorsed eventual nominee Mehmet Oz.

The Club for Growth has openly distanced itself from Trump since the feud: McIntosh explained to reporters earlier this month, when the invite list was unveiled sans Trump, that “the party should be open to another candidate,” noting that Republicans had suffered too many election losses with Trump at the helm.

In another shot at Trump, on the eve of Trump’s 2024 campaign announcement just after the November midterms, the Club for Growth unveiled a poll showing the former president trailing DeSantis by double digits in early GOP nominating states Iowa and New Hampshire—which McIntosh called a sign that voters view “Trump’s insults against Republicans as hollow and counterproductive,” while joining GOP calls on Trump to delay his announcement.

In response to the snub, Trump called the group “the Club For NO Growth, an assemblage of political misfits, globalists, and losers” in a post on Truth Social.

Trump also claimed in a Truth Social post Thursday “the only reason certain ‘candidates’ won’t be going to CPAC is because the crowds have no interest in anything they have to say,” in an apparent reference to the absence of DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence (who is also weighing a run for the 2024 GOP nomination) at the event, which began Wednesday.

Surprising Fact

The dispute over last year’s midterms disrupted a once-close relationship between Trump and the Club for Growth, a federal political action committee that poured more than $81 million into the 2022 election cycle. Trump and McInstosh, who served as an informal adviser to Trump following his 2020 election loss, praised each other during an April 9 GOP rally in North Carolina: “He’s a winner. He’s a fighter. We are undefeated when we work together,” Trump said, to which McIntosh replied, “You are a great man . . . I am so proud to partner with you.”

Contra

Trump has maintained strong ties with the American Conservative Union for years, regularly headlining its annual CPAC conference and remaining close with the group’s leader Matt Schlapp, whose wife Mercedes worked in Trump’s White House.

What To Watch For

Potential GOP 2024 contenders Pence, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu are scheduled to attend the Club for Growth event. So are confirmed candidates South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and investment firm manager Vivek Ramaswamy, who are also slated to attend CPAC, along with prominent right-wing voices, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.). Trump’s CPAC speech is scheduled for Saturday night.

Key Background

Trump and DeSantis, who has not formally announced a presidential run, have both ramped up their political activity in recent weeks. Trump dined with donors at Mar-A-Lago last Thursday at a fundraiser hosted by his MAGA, Inc. PAC. The following day, DeSantis kicked off a donor retreat at the Four Seasons in Palm Beach, just four miles from Trump’s private club and residence. Earlier last week, Trump also visited the site of the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. And DeSantis promoted his tough-on-crime agenda to law enforcement audiences in Philadelphia, Chicago and New York last Monday. This week, DeSantis published a book, The Courage To Be Free, that will coincide with a multi-city speaking tour. While DeSantis has shied away from publicly criticizing Trump, Trump has often attacked the Florida governor on his Truth Social platform, coining the nickname “Ron DeSanctimonious” for his former protege and labeling him a “RINO globalist.”

Big Number

55%. That’s the percentage of Republican voters who want Trump to be the 2024 GOP nominee versus 25% who back DeSantis, according to an Emerson College poll of 1,060 registered voters released on Tuesday (margin of error 2.9 points). Trump also leads DeSantis by 15 points in February polls by Fox News and GOP firm Echelon Insights, and 8 points in a Yahoo News/YouGov poll released Tuesday. Other polling results have been mixed, however. DeSantis led Trump, 40% to 31%, among a field of eight possible contenders in a February WPA Intelligence poll released February 23. He also beat Trump by 17 points in a hypothetical California primary matchup, according to a mid-February poll by the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies. A Monmouth University poll released in early February found Republican voters preferred DeSantis over Trump by 13 points.

Tangent

Schlapp is facing sexual assault allegations from a former campaign staffer to the GOP’s nominee for the midterm Senate race in Georgia, Herschel Walker. The alleged victim, whose name has not been made public, accused Schlapp in a lawsuit of “aggressively fondling” the male staffer as he was driving him back to his hotel following a night out in Atlanta on October 19. Schlapp has denied the allegations.

Further Reading

Trump’s 2024 GOP Competition: Investment Firm Manager Vivek Ramaswamy Announces Run For President (Forbes)

DeSantis Sets The Stage For 2024 Run: Hosts Trump Backers At Fundraiser And Launches A Cross-Country Book Tour (Forbes)

DeSantis Is More Popular Than Trump Among These Key Groups Ahead Of 2024, Poll Finds (Forbes)





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