‘Ron’s Magic Is GONE!’ Trump Says After 2 DeSantis-Endorsed Candidates Lose

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a Make America Great Again rally in Manchester, N.H., on April 27, 2023. Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump took a victory lap on social media on May 17, following the defeat of two candidates endorsed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in races in Kentucky and Jacksonville, Florida.

“Ron’s magic is GONE!” Trump declared on his Truth Social account on Wednesday. A day earlier, Trump-endorsed Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron won the Republican nomination in the Kentucky gubernatorial race, defeating DeSantis-endorsed Kelly Craft, a former ambassador to the United Nations.

Craft finished third with 17.5 percent of the vote, trailing Kentucky’s Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles (21.9 percent) and Cameron (46.9 percent).

In his victory speech, Cameron thanked the former president and added, “The Trump culture of winning is alive and well in Kentucky.”

Cameron will face incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in November, in a state that Trump carried with more than 62 percent of support in both 2016 and 2020.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron speaks during a press conference in Frankfort, Ky., on Sept. 23, 2020. Jon Cherry/Getty Images

“Congratulations to a ‘star’ in Kentucky, Daniel Cameron, who easily won the Republican Nomination for Governor. He had my Complete and Total Endorsement,” Trump wrote.

“The DeSanctimonious backed candidate came in a DISTANT third. He also lost, shockingly, in Jacksonville last night (Mayor),” Trump added. The former president began calling the Florida governor “Ron DeSanctimonious” days before the 2022 midterm elections.

DeSantis also endorsed Republican candidate Daniel Davis in the mayoral race in Jacksonville, who lost to Democrat candidate Donna Deegan in a May 16 runoff.

Deegan’s victory flipped the Jacksonville mayor’s office, which has been under GOP control since 2015 when incumbent Mayor Lenny Curry was first elected. Curry could not seek reelection this year because of term limits.

Trump claimed that Davis’s defeat was “a big upset” and “a shocker,” in a separate Truth Social post.

“If they would have asked me to Endorse, he would have won, easily. Too proud to do so. Fools! This is a BIG LOSS for the Republican Party. Remember, ‘Rob’ only won because of me!!!” Trump added. In 2018, Trump called DeSantis “strong on Borders, tough on Crime” in endorsing the then-congressman to become the next Florida governor.

Florida GOP Chairman Christian Ziegler took to Twitter on Wednesday to say that Jacksonville Republicans had a “good” turnout of 43 percent compared to Democrats’ 35 percent.

“Good turnout effort, but not enough to overcome Voter Reg deficit + I loss + R flips post-bloody primary,” Ziegler added.

2024

DeSantis, seen as Trump’s main rival for the Republican nomination in 2024, has not officially launched a presidential bid but is expected to make his decision soon.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, biotechnology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and conservative radio host Larry Elder have announced a 2024 run for the GOP nomination.

At an event in Iowa on May 13, DeSantis said the Republican Party needs to reject a “culture of losing” in recent years.

“If we make the 2024 election, a referendum on [President] Joe Biden and his failures, and if we provide a positive alternative for the future of this country, Republicans will win across the board,” DeSantis added. “If we do not do that, if we get distracted, if we focus the election on the past or on other side issues, then I think the Democrats are going to beat us again, and I think it will be very difficult to  recover from that defeat.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during an Iowa GOP reception in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on May 13, 2023. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Trump responded to DeSantis’s comments in an interview with The Messenger published a day later. The former president said, “Ron is not a winner.”

“First of all, I’m not at all caught up in the past. And second of all, I’m doing much better against Biden than he is in the polls, and I’m doing much better against him,” Trump added. “I mean, I’m beating [DeSantis] by 40 points in some polls, so he can talk about what he wants.”

Trump continued: “Ron is not a winner because Ron without me wouldn’t have won. If I would have left it alone, he would have lost by 30 points or more.”

According to a mid-May poll by Rasmussen Reports of 996 likely voters, 62 percent said they would vote for Trump in the 2024 primaries.

DeSantis finished second with 17 percent of support, followed by former Vice President Mike Pence at 6 percent, Haley at 5 percent, Hutchinson at 3 percent, and Ramaswamy at 2 percent.