Profiles in belly-crawling
Rep. Adam Schiff slammed Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida on Sunday for comments the likely GOP primary candidate made about former President Donald Trump’s indictment.
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DeSantis, who is expected to enter the 2024 presidential race, criticized the indictment delivered by a New York grand jury on Thursday, calling it “un-American.”
“Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda,” DeSantis said…
On Sunday, Schiff, who led Trump’s first impeachment in the House and sat on the high-profile committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, called DeSantis’ comments “cowardly.”
“He certainly knows better about the law. He knows what his obligation is to extradite someone who is accused of crime in another state,” Schiff said. “This is kind of a cowardly action by Ron DeSantis to try to compete with Donald Trump on Trump’s own turf.”
More cynical and self-serving than cowardly, I’d say. It wouldn’t take any real courage to say “The law must take its course” or similar. Trump is never going to be his buddy, let alone help him run for president, let alone get elected president. He might as well just say “No one is above the law” and leave it at that.
This is why I’ve always been skeptical of DeSantis’s chances at the nomination. He’s done well for himself in picking fights with liberals or those he can brand as liberals (Disney). But unless he’s just hoping Trump drops dead or decides not to run, at some point he’s got to throw a punch at Trump, and it’s not at all clear that (1) he’s willing to do that, and (2) that he’ll continue to get fawning treatment from conservative media once he does so. (No doubt 1 is caused in part by 2.)
I mean, this was such a freebie for DeSantis. His rival for the nomination is being indicted. He isn’t actually going to have to approve an extradition request, because Trump is turning himself in anyway. All he had to do was say I believe in the justice system and am sure that the truth will win out, or something to that effect, rather than falling all over himself to defend Trump.
It’s weird. I understand why people like Haley will say things like that, because she’s just hoping to be Trump’s VP. But Trump is so pissed at DeSantis that it isn’t a possibility anyway. I’m starting to wonder if he doesn’t pull a Chris Christie and pass on the 2024 race, hoping that 2028 will be better, and discover that he missed his window.
I would almost rather have Trump than DeS. He is one snarky, vicious toad. Read i the recent The Atlantic how gleeful DeS was in torturing people at Guantanamo. Sickening.