Donald Trump taunts Ron Desantis after chief strategist resigns

The floundering presidential campaign of Ron DeSantis has been dealt another blow with the resignation of his chief strategist.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s campaign for the White House is going from bad to worse. Picture: AFP

The floundering presidential campaign of Ron DeSantis has been dealt another blow with the resignation of his chief strategist, Jeff Roe. He is the latest in a string of high-profile departures from the Florida Governor’s team.

Mr Roe, who led Mr DeSantis’s Never Back Down political committee, quit less than a month before the first votes are cast in the Republican primary race.

His departure follows weeks of friction within the committee and with the Governor’s senior aides.

“I can’t believe it ended this way. I’m so proud to have worked alongside these men and women … the past nine months to save the country,” Mr Roe said on Twitter/X.

The Never Back Down committee, which takes its name from Mr DeSantis’s campaign slogan, was engulfed by chaos and infighting as it struggled to halt the slide in the Governor’s popularity.

Once seen as the most formidable challenger to Donald Trump for the Republican nomination, Mr DeSantis trails the former president by more than 50 points.

The FiveThirtyEight polling average placed Mr Trump on 63 per cent among Republican primary voters, with Mr DeSantis a distant second on 12 per cent.

Mr Trump pounced on Mr Roe’s departure, gloating at the setback for his rival only 30 days before the Iowa caucuses signal the start of the primary race.

“Jeff Roe is out – GAME OVER for DeSanctimonious!” the former president mockingly wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Never Back Down had funds of more than $US80m ($132m), by far the biggest in the Republican race. Much of the money was left from Mr DeSantis’s re-election campaign in Florida during the gubernatorial elections last year.

The committee took charge of the campaign’s advertising and ground operations along with much of the Governor’s travel and events.

Under US election law, however, Mr DeSantis’s official team has no legal control over Never Back Down. The power handed to the committee caused tension as the Governor’s White House run was dogged by missteps.

A botched campaign launch with Elon Musk on X was followed by a leaked memo before the first Republican debate in August. This drew ridicule because it outlined Mr DeSantis’s strategy to “defend Donald Trump”.

Mr DeSantis reportedly became frustrated with Never Back Down as his poll numbers dwindled. The committee itself was riven by infighting, disputes over strategy and there are reports that the campaign is haemorrhaging cash.

Five senior officials have left in three weeks. The committee’s chairman and chief executive resigned, while three members of Mr Roe’s company were fired after claims of “mismanagement and conduct issues”.

Mr Roe denied the claims but said he “cannot in good conscience stay affiliated with Never Back Down” following the allegations, which were “an unwanted distraction at a critical time for Governor DeSantis”.

The Times