“God said, ‘I need somebody who will take the arrows, stand firm in the wake of unrelenting attacks, look a mother in the eyes and tell her that her child will be in school; she can keep her job, go to church, eat dinner with friends, and hold the hand of an aging parent taking their breath for the last time,’” the ad goes on to say. “So God made a fighter.”
DeSantis has also strategically leaned on influential evangelical supporters, including Florida pastor and once SBC president hopeful Tom Ascol, who offered the invocation at DeSantis’ rally on Sunday (Nov. 6).
“Your word instructs us to pray for all people, and especially for civil authorities in high positions. So tonight, we pray for Governor DeSantis, and we thank you for him and the wisdom, and the courage that you have given to him,” Ascol prayed. “Help him always to remember that he is first and foremost your servant. Empower him with good counsel and strength to fulfill your will in his responsibilities that go with the office. Help him to carry out his duties with joy and in the fear of the Lord, and deliver him from the fear of any man.”
Hannah Ascol Ellis, Ascol’s daughter and Director of Media Communications and Marketing at Ascol’s Founders Ministries, later tweeted, “Trump chose Copeland. DeSantis chose Ascol. One choice was better than the other.”
Though the tension between Trump and DeSantis has apparently divided the support of Trump-era Republicans, it remains to be seen if the party’s voters will again rally behind Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination for president.
“Screenshot every single one of these evangelicals trashing Trump for the DeSantis shade,” tweeted sociologist Samuel Perry. “Cuz every single one of them will be singing his praises AGAIN in due time.”
Others are less confident that DeSantis supporters will again back Trump.
“Several DeSantis allies, some also close to Trump, texted last night and this morning, unprompted, expressing private anger and even disgust w/ Trump for his remarks about the Florida governor,” tweeted journalist Robert Costa. “Say they’re telling [DeSantis] and his family, and his top aides, to still move [toward] ’24 bid.”
RELATED: ‘As Christ Said, Judge a Tree by Its Fruits’: Alex Jones Dumps Trump for DeSantis
Trump has withheld his endorsement from DeSantis’ campaign for governor. Election day for the midterms is Tuesday (Nov. 8).
