Former South Carolina Gov. and Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s campaign bashed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Tuesday ahead of his likely presidential announcement, according to a campaign memo.
The Florida governor is widely expected to file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission Wednesday to run for president, and Haley’s campaign manager Betsy Ankney sent out a campaign memo arguing that DeSantis isn’t a “credible alternative” to former President Donald Trump that the GOP is looking for, the memo reads. While DeSantis positions himself as “Trump without the drama,” Ankney argued that he’s merely “Trump without the charm.”
“DeSantis might not have Trump’s taste for incendiary tweets but make no mistake: his record shows that his ‘leadership style’ will only lead to more drama,” Ankney wrote.
The memo highlighted several issues the campaign believes make DeSantis a “disorganized” candidate, like the proposed legislation that would have changed Florida’s defamation laws to make it easier to sue media outlets, a Florida congressman declining to endorse DeSantis because of the lack of communication, personal attacks on the governor, campaign leaks, his feud with Disney and more.
