DeSantis Jealous of Abbott 's 'Good Political Fortune' on Migrants
By: Alex Griffing (Mediaite)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
By Alex GriffingSep 26th, 2022, 6:56 pm Twitter share button <?php // Post Body ?>
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) reportedly "mused" to Republican donors last year that he was jealous of Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) for being a border state governor.
New York Times reporters Michael C. Bender and J. David Goodman took a deep dive over the weekend into the rivalry between DeSantis and Abbott, who are competing with one another to see who can curry more favor with the MAGA base.
"The two Republican governors have been locked in an increasingly high-stakes contest of one-upmanship, wielding their own unique brands of conservatism and pushing boundaries by using desperate migrants for political gain," wrote the authors, referring to both governors recently shipping migrants from Texas to Democrat-controlled jurisdictions.
"In Florida, Mr. DeSantis mused to donors last year about Mr. Abbott's good political fortune to share 1,254 miles of border with Mexico and complained that he didn't have the same to use as a backdrop," the Times added.
DeSantis recently flew migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard at the expense of Florida taxpayers. The stunt led to widespread condemnation in the media and on the left, while many on the right heralded the move as "owning the libs."
Bender and Goodman reported on Abbott's reaction to DeSantis getting in on the politics of moving migrants around the country.
"Publicly, Mr. Abbott has not criticized Mr. DeSantis's migrant flights from his state," the authors noted. "But privately, the Florida governor's gambit stung Mr. Abbott's team. No one in the Texas governor's office was given a heads-up that Mr. DeSantis planned to round up migrants in San Antonio, according to people familiar with the matter," the Times added.
The authors explained that Abbott has been working on his migrant scheme for many months as his office has worked hard to schedule over 11,000 bus trips to ship migrants to Washington, New York, and Chicago.
While DeSantis's presidential ambitions are widely covered in the media and speculated upon on almost a daily basis, Abbott's political future and national ambitions are less widely considered. Bender and Goodman explain that the 2024 GOP presidential nomination is less the source of their rivalry as is the fact that both are seeking reelection in 2022 and drawing from a similar donor base while competing for national media attention.
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Maybe these two bozos will cage match each other.
Lawrence O'Donnell made a good comment tonight -
"Ron DeSantis has an illegal immigrant problem - he doesnt have an illegal immigrant problem".
Meaning DeSantis is jealous of Texas' long border with Mexico and the way Abbott can abuse the border situation for personal political purposes.
Exactly, and now there is no reason for Gov Pritzker, Gov Hochul, Gov Baker or Mayor Bowser to be jealous.