Former Democratic Rep. Max Rose couldn’t keep a straight face Saturday when MS NOW showed him Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ latest warning about Republicans’ midterm performance.
On “The Assignment with Antonia Hylton,” the host read a post in which DeSantis warned that “Republicans are underperforming in Polk County,” a central Florida county where he said the GOP has a 60,000-voter registration advantage. The host called it “one of several panicked tweets,” then stopped to ask Rose, “Why are you laughing?”
“Because it’s like, who advised him to tweet that?” Rose said. “It’s like, help, help, help. Like, it’s not the best communication style right there.”
Rose argued that Republicans could be in better shape if they had broken with President Donald Trump earlier, especially over the war with Iran.
“There is an alternative universe where Republican Senate and House candidates could be doing a lot better right now,” he said. In that universe, he said, Republicans 18 months ago “would have been standing up to Donald Trump” and telling him, “Sir, you’re not above the Constitution.”
Instead, the ex-lawmaker said, GOP candidates trying to sound independent in the final weeks of the race aren’t fooling anyone.
“People are smart,” Rose said. “When they start to talk independent 45 days, 30 days before an election, they know it’s not genuine. It’s not real. It’s just politics in its worst form. That’s why it’s not working anywhere in the country right now.”