Political Wire

  • Front Page
  • Trending
  • Reader Wire
  • Members
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / 2024 Campaign / Trump Plotted for Weeks to ‘Mindfuck’ DeSantis

Trump Plotted for Weeks to ‘Mindfuck’ DeSantis

April 20, 2023 at 8:07 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rolling Stone: “Team Trump’s rollout of Florida endorsements on Tuesday was part of a plan to subvert DeSantis in his own state that the former president’s staff has been working on for more than a month, sources say. Trump’s aggressive, weeks-long outreach to secure Florida Republican endorsers this early in the game (when DeSantis hasn’t even officially declared a 2024 presidential run) has been spearheaded by top aides like Brian Jack and Susie Wiles, with the ex-president at times getting personally involved as well, the sources say.”

“By this past weekend, Trump’s inner circle was convinced they had a number of new Florida lawmakers ready to announce their support. Previously, the idea was to release the endorsements at once, likely Thursday or Friday of this week. However, by the weekend, plans had changed: It was decided that the Trump campaign would drip them out at different points in the coming days — including on Tuesday when DeSantis would be on the ground in Washington, D.C., trying to lock down his own endorsements from the Florida delegation. The ploy was part of a deliberate effort to, in the words of one of the sources familiar with the matter, ’embarrass and mindfuck DeSantis’ as much as possible, via a steady drip.”

“At least for this week, it seems to have worked.”

FavoriteLoadingSave to Favorites
  • Bluesky
  • X
  • Threads
  • Facebook
  • Email

Filed Under: 2024 Campaign

From our partner: Trade Coffee

Fueling Political Wire, One Cup at a Time

Every morning before the sun’s up, I sit down to work on Political Wire with a cup of Trade Coffee beside me.

It’s become part of the ritual — opening the laptop, scanning the news, and taking that first sip of a roast matched perfectly to my taste. Trade connects me with small roasters across the country, delivering beans that are always fresh and far better than what you’ll find at the grocery store.

If you love coffee as much as I do, use this link to get 50% off and taste the difference for yourself.



« Quote of the Day
Traffic »

Your Account

Sign in

Members Only

  • Weekly News Quiz
  • Blasphemy Politics
  • Democrats Edge Closer to Rewriting Presidential Rules
  • Who Will Benefit from Eric Swalwell’s Departure?
  • The Problem With Being Trump’s Heir

Trial Balloon

Add Trial Balloon to your podcast player to get new episodes each week.


About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

Praise for Political Wire

“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”

— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”

“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”

— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report

“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”

— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”

— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

“Political Wire is a great, great site.”

— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”

— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit

“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”

— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.

Copyright © 2026 · Goddard Media LLC | Privacy Policy | Corrections Policy

Political Wire ® is a registered trademark of Goddard Media LLC