Donald Trump Mocks the DeSantis Campaign’s Collapse: ‘Terrible Experience’ for Staffers

Former President Donald Trump mocked the steady collapse of the DeSantis campaign following news of Jeff Roe’s departure from the pro-DeSantis Super PAC Never Back Down, asserting that it has been a “terrible experience” for staffers, who have “watched their candidate fall violently from the sky like a wounded bird.”

“The Ron DeSanctimonious ‘team’ of misfits and grifters has largely quit his campaign to go on to greener pastures,” Trump said in a Truth Social post this week.

“It has been a terrible experience for them as they have watched their candidate fall violently from the sky like a wounded bird. Jeff Roe, his ‘chief strategist’ and head of his PAC, ‘Always Back Down,’ after having done major surgery on Ron’s wallet, couldn’t get out of town fast enough,” Trump continued.

“Now Jeff can spend full time in Texas working with Ted Cruz, formerly known as Lyin’ Ted, who is working hard to get back the magic they had together in 2016!” Trump mocked:

While Trump has continually taunted the floundering DeSantis campaign throughout the primary cycle, this latest bout of mockery follows Jeff Roe, the chief strategist and consultant for Never Back Down, resigning from the PAC over the weekend.

“I can’t believe it ended this way. I’m so proud to have worked alongside these men and women at NBD 24/7 the past nine months to save the country. Good luck the next 28 days and a wake up. I’m so sorry I can’t be there with you,” Roe wrote on X, sharing a screenshot of his formal statement:

I can’t believe it ended this way. I’m so proud to have worked alongside these men and women at NBD 24/7 the past nine months to save the country. Good luck the next 28 days and a wake up. I’m so sorry I can’t be there with you. pic.twitter.com/Rh4oQQ1tAE

— Jeff Roe (@jeffroe) December 17, 2023

His departure followed many more from the organization, including Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt resigning as chair of the organization, Chris Jankowski, chief executive; and Erin Perrine, the PAC’s communications director, leaving as well.

Indeed, DeSantis has failed to gain any sort of momentum throughout the primary, as Trump continues to dominate in all three of the early states — Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. Trump leads DeSantis, specifically, by an average of 32 points in Iowa, 34.8 points in New Hampshire, and 38 points in South Carolina, per Tuesday’s RealClearPolitics (RCP) Tuesday averages.

Trump and his allies have continued to assert that any major support behind DeSantis’s campaign was largely artificial, pointing to the Never Trump billionaire donor movement propping the Florida governor up.

WATCH — Donald Trump Jr.: Never Trump Billionaire Donor Movement Largely Behind DeSantis Bid
Jack Knudsen / Breitbart News

Dan Eberhart, a DeSantis donor, asserted that DeSantis has indeed “delivered stunning victories in the past” but admitted that it “doesn’t seem to be his time.” Tucker Carlson has also commented on the DeSantis campaign, noting he liked him as governor but criticizing the individuals he has supporting him, at least in the online sphere.

“You really get the sense that Ron DeSantis – who I liked as governor – the people who represent him online are the nastiest, the stupidest, and the most zero-sum people I’ve ever seen in my life,” Carlson said.