WATCH: Byron York says ‘Trump really sounds like a Democrat’ in attack ad on DeSantis
Julia Johnson
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The Washington Examiner’s Byron York said former President Donald Trump resembled a Democratic politician in some of his attacks against other Republicans, specifically Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL).
“In attacking other candidates, specifically DeSantis, Trump really sounds like a Democrat,” York said Monday on Fox News.
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According to him, Trump’s accusation of the governor “wanting to cut Medicare and cut Social Security” is notable because that “is precisely the sort of entitlement reform that a lot of Republicans have supported over time.”
Recently, MAGA Inc., the super PAC supporting Trump’s 2024 White House bid, launched an ad specifically targeting DeSantis and making such accusations.
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Never Back Down, a similar PAC backing the Florida governor, responded on Sunday with an ad of its own. The ad included footage of DeSantis promising last month not to “mess with Social Security.” It further shows Trump at the World Economic Forum saying that entitlements will be on the table “at some point.”
The ad also questioned why Trump is focused on attacking Republicans while he faces criminal charges from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in New York.
In York’s analysis, DeSantis’s PAC’s ad “was a very, very conventional attack ad.” However, he did point out that Trump is using similar lines of attack that Democratic politicians have used in the past regarding entitlements.
But, he reiterated, “this looks like a very conventional ad when you say Donald Trump is lying about Republicans. That is going to grate on a lot of Republican ears.”
According to York, the Republican primary is really “a two-man race.”
DeSantis has yet to launch a bid for the White House, but he is speculated to do so this summer.
“I mean, even though DeSantis is far back, he’s way ahead of anybody else,” York said. “So a lot of Republicans who do want to move on from Donald Trump say DeSantis is really the guy. It’s either him or somebody else who is below 5% right now.”
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He further noted that “the problem is the hardest job in politics is running against Donald Trump in a Republican primary.”
“Here’s the big thing: You’re trying to appeal to Republican voters. You have to tell them that you really support and respect what Trump did in office — he did a great job in office. And then, you have to say, ‘But it’s time to move on,’ and Trump is saying, ‘Wait a minute. Here I am. I’ll do it again,'” York said.