"I am my own man": is Trump's blessing also a curse for Florida De RonantSantis? | American News



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Ron DeSantis, a Republican candidate for governor of Florida, whose advertising campaign climbs him building a wall with toy blocks with his young daughter, then reads The Art of the Deal to his son, as a story at bedtime, wants you to know that he's more than just Donald Trump's guy in the Sunshine State.

"I am my own man, I have a record on different things," insisted DeSantis at a recent event held at Doral, during which he congratulated the president for everything since the low rate of unemployment up to economic prosperity by reducing taxes to fight against terrorism in the Middle East, withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear agreement and defying dictators like Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro and Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua.

Yet DeSantis bristles when he is in a hurry to be "his own guy", especially his rejection of False recent statement by Trump Hurricane Maria of 2017 did not kill thousands of people in Puerto Rico.

With hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans, many of them evacuated by the storm, as well as all American citizens and voters living in central Florida, and with his opponent, Democrat Andrew Gillum, winning the downswing of the governor of On the island, Ricardo Roselló, last week, DeSantis had little choice but to publicly separate from the president. It's just that the five-year-old American congressman does not like to talk about it.

"That's what the media do, if you do something different, then" Oh, DeSantis breaks with Trump, "he said. "And they do it with the case of Puerto Rico, they played that. But then, if you agree with him, they say: "All that DeSantis does is agree with him", so it's a kind of media game.

DeSantis, 40, is engaged in a fierce political struggle with the mayor of Tallahassee, Gillum, a progressive leftist disciple and disciple of Bernie Sanders, who wants to mark the story of the upcoming election of the black governor of Florida.





Candidate for the Democratic governorship of Florida, Andrew Gillum, at a rally on October 1 in Kissimmee, Florida.



Florida Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Gillum at a rally on October 1 in Kissimmee, Florida. Photography: John Raoux / AP

One of Gillum's frequent lines of attack is that DeSantis and Trump share the same traits of rhetoric and prejudice, an assertion that echoed the day after the first primary of August when DeSantis urged voters to Florida, in an interview with Fox News television, does not "ring for nothing" by voting for the Democrat.

The DeSantis campaign team dismissed this seemingly racist remark as an innocent figure, but for Gillum it was less of a whistle for the fans, but a "complete megaphone".

"It is very clear that Mr. DeSantis directly takes a page from Donald Trump's campaign manual," he told Fox.

Barely a week later, DeSantis stepped down as a director of the Tea Party's Facebook group linked to racist publications, saying he was unaware that it had already been added. According to the New Times in Miami, the Republican candidate had "inadvertently committed racist acts," according to one of the many incidents.

When the Guardian met DeSantis in Doral, a largely Hispanic town west of Miami, where Trump National Doral Golf Club is his second largest employer, Gillum has a small lead in polling, even though the race is still considered by many analysts to be a toss-up.

"You can not just be in a safe space when you run for governorship, you have to mix everything up," he said about a fierce campaign in which DeSantis accused his opponent of Dodge the debates, support anti-Semitism and radicalism and corruption; while Gillum condemned the Republican for using defamation tactics and character assassination instead of focusing on pro-Floridian policies.

DeSantis continued: "In politics, we are constantly demoguing, it's just a higher level. You must be ready to take a lot of slingshots and arrows, which comes with the territory, especially if you are trying to advance conservative politics.

"It's not like you're running in Oklahoma or Delaware. Florida is a big state. You talk about a state with more than 20 million people. At least six million people will vote. "





In a campaign advertisement for Ron DeSantis, he builds a wall with toy blocks with his young daughter.



In a campaign advertisement for Ron DeSantis, he builds a wall with toy blocks with his young daughter. Photography: Ron DeSantis

Over the weekend, both candidates continued to launch verbal grenades at rallies across the state, although Gillum announced Monday that it was suspending its campaign in order to prepare for the weekend. Possible arrival of Hurricane Michael midweek in Tallahassee.

In many ways, DeSantis, from Ponte Vedra Beach, follows a traditional path well taken by previous Republican candidates in Florida. He wooed the Cuban-Americans in Miami by starting his campaign in Little Havana and naming Cuban-American Jeanette Nunez as his second. he took an airboat ride through the Everglades to showcase his ecological credentials and lay out plans for education and keep Florida's economy strong on all occasions.

His friendship and allegiance with Trump are unorthodox. DeSantis wants voters in Florida to consider the relationship with the president as an asset, who said on Twitter that the former Navy Seal who had served a combat tour in Iraq was going to "A great governor".

"As governor, I will not participate in the battle for food in Washington, but I think it's important that the governor can work constructively with the Trump administration," he said. he declares.

"I will be able to go to the Oval Office to talk to the President about Florida's needs, he will listen to me, Andrew Gillum wants to dismiss Donald Trump, so how on earth is he going to be able to work with the federal government? .

Florida policy analysts, however, warn that Trump's blessing could also prove to be a curse.

"If Trump likes a particular candidate, this candidate usually wins [the primary]Said Darryl Paulson, emeritus professor of government at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg.

"The other side of the coin is as important as Trump's endorsement of partisan supporters in a primary election, it can become the kiss of death for a candidate in a general election. At least a third of Floridians are not affiliated with any party and Trump is not extremely popular with independent voters. This creates a real dilemma for DeSantis: staying on the good side of Trump and getting his continued support, while creating a separation on some issues, such as Puerto Rico. It is a difficult line to weed. "





Andrew Gillum spoke with residents of Miami's Liberty City neighborhood about gun violence and the quality of life on August 13th.



Andrew Gillum spoke with residents of Miami's Liberty City neighborhood about gun violence and the quality of life on August 13th. Photo: Lynne Sladky / AP

Funded by Republican mega-donors, including Laura Perlmutter and Richard Uihlein, the DeSantis campaign raised approximately $ 30 million in contributions, much of which was spent on television advertising and depicting the Republican as a strong leader. away mainly from the Trump connection. paint Gillum as a failed mayor. "He was never taxed, and in Tallahassee, Andrew presided over the highest crime rate in Florida for four consecutive years," he said.

Gillum, however, fiercely defended his record as mayor of the capital and insisted that his proposal to raise the corporate tax rate in Florida from 5.5 to 7.75 percent would provide money to raise the 40th national rank of the state, from kindergarten to high school. education.

Republican politicians in Florida's DeSantis recognize the Trump factor, but believe voters must avoid the noise from Washington. "That's absolutely the case," said Guardian Manny Diaz, representative of the state of Miami.

"There are several layers in the cake. For me, it's both the national paradigm and the candidates themselves and what they represent. Pay attention to the problems of Florida. The economy is going well, unemployment is falling, do we want to change these things, why would we want to change lanes? Ron DeSantis is a clear choice. "

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