Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has for the first time criticized former President Donald Trump for his refusal to step down from power during his 2020 campaign effort — in a generalized comment referring to events more than 200 years ago.
DeSantis, who condemned rioters at the Capitol where he once served but has said little about Trump’s push to get courts and allies to overturn the findings, made the remark in an interview with Piers Morgan, where he also described the chaos at Trump Administration blew up.
He did so by invoking the nation’s most revered founder, George Washington, whom Trump himself has frequently idolized (while once boasting he could likely beat the Virginian in an election).
“Well, someone who really set the standard is George Washington, because he’s always put the Republic ahead of his own personal interests. When we won the American Revolution, Washington gave up its sword,” DeSantis said.
“George III said he was the greatest man in the world when he gave up power,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in an interview in which he emphasized the character, urged people to emulate the founders, and im Trump White House blew up ‘drama’
Then DeSantis brought the possibly apocryphal remarks of King George III. to the language in which he praised Washington for giving up power – and thus formed a sharp contrast to Trump.
“George III said, ‘He’s the greatest man in the world when he gives up power.’ I think the persona is more about how you go about your public duties and what kind of character you bring to that endeavor” , he said.
Morgan had asked him if a leader’s personal behavior was important.
“You really want to look at people like our founding fathers, what kind of character, that doesn’t mean you never make a mistake in your personal life, but I think what kind of character do you bring with you?” said DeSantis before referring to the King of Washington and Britain.
The comments were deeply embedded in an interview in which DeSantis contrasted his own leadership style with the “daily drama” of the Trump White House while poking at Trump’s character. He even doubled down on a Monday comment that he didn’t know “what it takes to pay a porn star hush money to keep quiet about any sort of alleged affair.”
Earlier this week, the Florida governor referred to Stormy Daniels’ hush money agreement, which could result in indictments against Trump in Manhattan as early as this week. Trump denies having a sexual affair with her.
The historic event to which DeSantis, a former Navy attorney, was referring was Washington’s decision to resign his military commission in 1783 after eight years of leading the Revolutionary War.
DeSantis slammed Trump in the interview, saying, “When we won the American Revolution, Washington gave up its sword.”
Trump was speaking at a “Stop the Steal” rally ahead of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. He told the Washington Post he could probably beat George Washington in an election
A huge oil painting of Washington laying down his commission is housed in the Capitol Rotunda along with other historical artworks
The gesture, made before the Continental Congress in Annapolis, the Maryland capital, is heralded by historians as one of the nation’s greatest statesmanlike acts in the nation’s history.
It is depicted in a huge oil painting in the Capitol Rotunda, where rioters rampaged on Jan. 6 after Trump urged them to “fight like hell” and urged then-Vice President Mike Pence to refuse to take votes, which have been certified by the states.
Another act of Washington that still resonates was its decision not to seek a third term, beginning a tradition that endured for decades and is now enshrined in the constitution.
Democratic opponent Charlie Crist sought to address DeSantis’ refusal to explicitly condemn Trump’s campaigning efforts during the 2022 gubernatorial race, which DeSantis won by a wide margin, and accused him of “silence” on March 6. January.
King George III may have said if Washington gave up power ‘he would be the greatest man in the world’
DeSantis issued a statement on January 6, 2021, stating, “Violence or rioting of any kind is unacceptable and perpetrators must face the full weight of the law.”
He also called it “completely unacceptable and these people need to be held accountable,” adding the next day: “It doesn’t matter what banner you fly under – the violence is wrong, the rioting and disorder is wrong. ‘
On the one-year anniversary of Jan. 6, he likened it to Christmas for the “DC New York media,” which he says is allowed to run negative narratives.
“They’re going to take that and milk it for whatever they can to try and smear everyone who has ever supported Donald Trump,” DeSantis said.
Breaking with Trump on the subtle historical analogy, DeSantis joins former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in pointing out what a vulnerability could be as the presidential race is grim. Haley appealed directly to Republicans who were tired of losing.
Trump’s takeover in his role in 2020 poses risks in the primary as polls show a majority of Republicans believe Trump’s allegations of voter fraud. He was already in Trump’s crosshairs with the “porn star” comments.
Trump adviser Jason Miller hit back at DeSantis Tuesday night with an angry response. “Ron DeSantis has finally shown his true colors. An Establishment Never Trumper who despises the MAGA base and has been faking it all along,” he said tweeted.
One area where DeSantis may have gone beyond the historical record is in his quote from King George, which continues to gain traction on official websites.
The quote comes from the American artist Benjamin West, who spent time at the king’s court and passed on what he heard to another artist. It was not recorded until years after the king allegedly said it, as historian and early American specialist Elizabeth Norvara wrote in a Library of Congress blog. “The King said if he did he would be the tallest man in the world,” artist Joseph Farrington wrote in his journal, a second-hand account of what he told West.
In another version, West told Rufus King, Washington’s ambassador to Britain, that after Washington decided not to seek a third term, it was an act that “put him in the light of the noblest of all living men and that he thought him the greatest.” . character of the time.’
But that happened all the way in 1797 after Washington left office, not after he relinquished his military command.
In any case, the king himself was not quick to relinquish power. He retained his crown until the end of his life, even after his son stepped in as regent amidst his insanity.