DeSantis news – latest: Florida governor most popular with rich Republicans as he defends move to fly migrants to California

DeSantis on campaign trail hoping to raise national profile as 2024 race hots up

Ron DeSantis snaps at reporter who asked why he wasn’t taking questions from the public

Florida governor Ron DeSantis appears to be the preferred Republican candidate among right-leaning millionaires, according to the latest CNBC Millionaire Survey, although his arch-rival and front-runner Donald Trump is seemingly also picking up support among wealthy Americans.

The poll shows that 32 per cent of Republicans with qualifying millionaire status currently support Mr DeSantis, a drop from 54 per cent at the end of 2022, while Mr Trump now has the backing of 28 per cent, up from 17 per cent last year.

Meanwhile, the governor has met with sheriffs in Arizona and defended his state’s recent decision to fly migrants from the US-Mexico border to Sacramento, California, a move widely derided as a cruel political stunt but which he insisted was above board because the west coast state had essentially invited them with its liberal immigration policies.

“I think the border should be closed. I don’t think we should have any of this,” Mr DeSantis said. “But if there’s a policy to have an open border, then I think the sanctuary jurisdictions should be the ones that have to bear that.”

Key Points

• Inside the bitter rivalry between Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom
• Millionaires support Ron DeSantis but Trump support growing, says poll
• California investigating whether DeSantis involved in flying asylum-seekers from Texas to Sacramento
• Showtime documentary on DeSantis’s Guantanamo Bay career mysteriously dropped
• DeSantis wraps up first early states tour with attack on Biden

[10 July 2023 05:00 · John Bowden]

Christie hammers Trump on ABC

The former New Jersey governor was on ABC News as well as Fox on Sunday, where Mr Christie — a former cable news contributor himself — has waged much of his war against Donald Trump.

[10 July 2023 04:00 · John Bowden]

ICYMI: Appeals court ethics panel recommends Rudy Giuliani be disbarred

A disciplinary committee in Washington DC has recommended Rudy Giuliani be disbarred in the nation’s capital for his spurious efforts to overturn the results for the 2020 presidential election on behalf of Donald Trump.

The former New York City mayor led Mr Trump’s campaign of disinformation and conspiracies in an effort to alter the election results, and made numerous claims for which he later was revealed on tape to have admitted he had no evidence to make.

Mr Giuliani had “no factual basis, and consequently no legitimate legal grounds” to challenge the results of the election in states that Mr Trump lost, while his “frivolous” pursuit to undermine the outcome and disenfranchise voters “seriously undermined the administration of justice,” according to the committee’s report.

Alex Woodward has the details.

[10 July 2023 03:00 · John Bowden]

Trump vows to keep ‘communists and markers’ out of the US

Donald Trump fumbled his words while speaking at his largest campaign event in Iowa on Friday.

The former president appeared in Council Bluffs in the western part of the state that hosts the first caucus in approximately just over five months.

Speaking about immigration, Mr Trump was relaying a campaign promise to deny entry to leftist ideologues when he accidentally referred to them as “communists and markers” rather than Marxists.

Read on...

[10 July 2023 02:00 · John Bowden]

Judge rules Don Jr can be subpoenaed in Trump Organization case

A judge has allowed for Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen to introduce one of the former president’s sons as a witness in his case against the Trump Organization, according to his attorneys.

Mr Cohen’s team had asked to use testimony from Donald Trump Jr in his case, as he served as a Trump Organization executive vice president.

“We would like to introduce testimony about what Mr Trump Jr. paid his lawyers in the exact same matters,” said Mr Cohen’s attorney, Hunter Winstead.

Jury selection will begin on 17 July, Mr Winstead told reporters.

Kelly Rissman reports.

[10 July 2023 01:00 · John Bowden]

Voices: The Freedom Caucus booting Marjorie Taylor Greene looks worse for them than it does for her

After a whirlwind few weeks for the far-right House Freedom Caucus, The Independent’s Eric Garcia explains what is really going on behind the scenes with Marjorie Taylor Greene’s expulsion.

[10 July 2023 00:00 · John Bowden]

Judge rules Trump can be made to give evidence in lawsuit from ex-FBI agent

A District of Columbia federal judge on Thursday said former president Donald Trump can be made to give evidence in a deposition as part of a lawsuit against the Department of Justice by ex-FBI agent Peter Strzok.

Andrew Feinberg has the details.

[9 July 2023 23:15 · John Bowden]

Comment: What bringing Trump back would mean for Ukraine – and conflict in the rest of the world

Mary Dejevsky writes:

Joe Biden’s visit to the UK this weekend, when he will meet the prime minister and the king, could serve as a welcome reminder about where political power – and responsibility – currently resides on both sides of the Atlantic.

I say this, because some of the recent running on arguably the most urgent international issue of the day has been made by someone who has no power whatever, but eyes a return. Step forward (as if he needed any invitation to do so) Donald Trump, who spoke at some length this week about wanting a peaceful outcome in Ukraine, even if this entailed territorial concessions on the part of Kyiv.

Read on...

[9 July 2023 22:34 · John Bowden]

Trump’s encounter with Guy Fieri at UFC fight sparks mixed reactions

Donald Trump attended an Ultimate Fighting Championship event in Las Vegas on Saturday night after a volunteer event for his Nevada primary campaign.

While the former president was met with cheers from the crowd and high-fived supporters at the T-Mobile Arena for UFC 290, his interactions with some of the notable names present caused a mixed reaction online.

[9 July 2023 21:15 · John Bowden]

Trump lawyer Alina Habba leaves his defence team in New York fraud case

Donald Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba has stepped down from her role defending the former president in the fraud lawsuit filed against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Ms Habba has taken up a new role with Mr Trump’s Save America leadership political action committee.

The Independent has more on the changing dynamics of Mr Trump’s legal team:

[9 July 2023 20:39 · John Bowden]

DeSantis nervously laughs when asked about campaign ‘failure to launch’ in Fox News interview

Ron DeSantis is once again facing awkward questions (and giving awkward responses) around the subject of his poll numbers, which have stagnated and dropped in some cases amid Donald Trump’s two criminal indictments.

The latest journalist to question Mr DeSantis on the issue did so on Fox News, and appeared to suggest that it was all over for him.

“What’s going on with your campaign?” Sunday Morning Futures host Maria Bartiromo asked. “There was a lot of optimism about you running for president earlier in the year. … What happened?!”

Watch the governor’s response here: