A knock against faux conservatism drew ire from former President Donald Trump’s team, which invoked a Clinton to demand an apology from a GOP rival.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ interview with The Florida Standard’s Editor in Chief Will Witt was spotlighted after a particular turn of phrase was treated as an opportunity to vilify the 2024 presidential hopeful.
Raising the specter for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2016 “deplorable” jab, the Trump campaign weaponized the governor’s take on “listless vessels” Saturday in an attempt to make it backfire.
“To Hillary Clinton, Trump supporters are ‘deplorables,'” stated Make America Great Again Inc. spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. “To Ron DeSantis, they are ‘listless vessels.’ The truth is, Trump supporters are patriots. Ron DeSantis is showing his true colors. The pressure of polling in third place is getting to DeSantis and now he is lashing out at the very same voters who got him elected governor. DeSantis must immediately apologize for his disgraceful insult.”
To Hillary Clinton, Trump supporters are ‘deplorables.’ To Ron DeSantis, they are ‘listless vessels.’ The truth is, Trump supporters are patriots.
Ron DeSantis is showing his true colors. The pressure of polling in third place is getting to DeSantis and now he is lashing out at… pic.twitter.com/S6UU4790W9
— Karoline Leavitt (@kleavittnh) August 19, 2023
Disregarded from the team that has continually “DeSanctimonious,” with the president himself going as far as to call his rival a “son of a b*tch” for running, was the full context of the remarks that supported the reason behind the campaign and even called for more action from fellow conservatives.
“We have a strand in our party that uses supporting Trump as whether you are a RINO or not,” DeSantis suggested to Witt in a portion of their interview. “So you could be the most conservative person since sliced bread, unless you’re kissing his rear-end, they will somehow call you a RINO. So it’s been totally detached from principle and what you actually believe and results, and it’s more about, you know, just what faction you happen to do.”
“If all we are is listless vessels that are just supposed to follow whatever happens to come down the pike on Truth Social every morning — that’s not going to be a durable movement.” pic.twitter.com/zAaxdYOGbk
— Marina Medvin (@MarinaMedvin) August 19, 2023
“So there’ll be people who are huge Trump supporters like in Congress who have like incredibly liberal, left wing records. That’s really just atrocious and yet they’re viewed as — by some of these folks as like really, really good.” he continued without calling out any specific members of the House or Senate.
“Then you have other people, you know, like a congressman Chip Roy who’s endorsed me — congressman Thomas Massie,” the governor offered by comparison. “These guys have records of principle, fighting the swamp, that are second to none and yet they will be attacked by some of these people and called RINOs.”
“So it’s just been totally detached from any type of substance and ultimately a movement can’t be about the personality of one individual. The movement has gotta be about what you are trying to achieve on behalf of the American people. And that’s gotta be based in principle because if you’re not rooted in principle,” asserted DeSantis, “if all we are is listless vessels…just supposed to follow, you know, whatever happens, to come down the pike on Truth Social every morning, that’s not gonna be a durable movement.”
Rising to the candidate’s defense amid the backlash from the Trump team was DeSantis’ campaign press secretary Bryan Griffin who, similar to Leavitt, juxtaposed the outrage with corporate media.
“The dishonest media refuses to report the facts–Donald Trump and some congressional endorsers are ‘listless vessels.’ Why? Because Trump and DC insiders feel he is entitled to your vote,” Griffin posted on X. “@RonDeSantis believes your trust should be earned and has the vision, plan, and record to beat Joe Biden and reverse the decline of our country.”
“That’s why Ron DeSantis will be showing up on Wednesday night to debate, and Donald Trump will not,” he added over the president’s choice to do an interview with commentator Tucker Carlson instead of face his primary challengers.
Rapid Response Director Christina Pushaw tacked on by sharing Griffin’s post with the caption, “The media, DC insiders, and GOP grifting caucus are taking this hard because they know it’s true.”
The media, DC insiders, and GOP grifting caucus are taking this hard because they know it’s true. https://t.co/o05frSIBHi
— Christina Pushaw (@ChristinaPushaw) August 20, 2023
While the president had not commented on social media about the remark at the time of this post, supporters from both camps weighed in with some treating it no different than Clinton’s “deplorables” line as others saw it as a fair take on D.C. insiders.
Ron DeSantis calling MAGA “listless vessels” was a BIG mistake.
Career ending.
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) August 19, 2023
I like the ‘listless vessels’ line, a lot.
The Republican Party is in fact full of listless vessels, and it’s a big problem.
It’s so perfect.
And it also requires a bit of thought to get, which makes it stick deeper in the brain.
— Peter Henlein (@SwissWatchGuy) August 19, 2023
Greetings fellow listless vessels!
— Jack Poso (@JackPosobiec) August 19, 2023
As a DeSantis supporter, I’d just like to say I disavow the “listless vessels” comment from my guy. Totally uncalled for.
Sincerely,
Disloyal Globalist Traitor RINO Neocon Autistic DeSimp
— Aaron McIntire (@DeaceProducer) August 19, 2023
This is the quote, he wasn’t calling Trump supporters a bad name. He’s describing the very real scenario and it’s a Naval term. For people who call everyone else names the OnlyTrump crowd gets really touchy when they don’t understand and aren’t even called a name. He’s right. https://t.co/RL5E5GVUD6
— Chris Loesch (@ChrisLoesch) August 20, 2023
“Listless Vessels” LFG!!!!!!
— Dan Scavino Jr. (@DanScavino) August 20, 2023
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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