A leaked memo from a group backing Gov. Ron DeSantis‘s White House bid suggests the Florida governor defend former President Trump at the first GOP debate and instead attack his lesser-known rivals.
Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting DeSantis for president, suggested in a leaked memo the governor should criticize Vivek Ramaswamy and defend former President Trump from attacks from former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at the first GOP debate next week.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) was also mentioned several times in strategy documents posted along with the memo, which was first reported on by The New York Times.
“They have to worry about [the] rest of the field catching up preparing for [the] long haul in case something happens to Trump,” a Republican strategist told The Hill. “And the memo for the debate basically makes that point.”
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The memo reportedly suggests the following line if Christie attacks Trump: “Trump isn’t here, so let’s just leave him alone. He’s too weak to defend himself here. We’re all running against him. I don’t think we want to join forces with someone on this stage who’s auditioning for a show on MSNBC.”
- It also suggests DeSantis call Ramaswamy “Fake Vivek” or “Vivek the Fake.”
The pro-Christie super PAC Tell It Like It Is then released a memo proposing Christie’s strategy, stating only, “Be yourself, and Tell It Like It Is.”
The Never Back Down memo appeared on, and was subsequently removed from, Axiom Strategies‘s website.
The Hill’s Julia Manchester noted that “it is not unusual for PACs to telegraph strategy in memos given that they are legally not allowed to coordinate directly with political campaigns…However, it is unusual that the trove of [debate strategy] documents was publicly posted to the firm working for the PAC.”
It’s still unclear whether Trump will be at the Aug. 23 debate.
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