DeSantis Copying Abbott With Martha’s Vineyard Stunt Has ‘Annoyed’ Texas Republicans: NYT
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis flying a group of nearly 50 Venezuelan migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard has “annoyed” Texas Republicans — who weren’t even given a heads up — according to a new report from the New York Times.
Times reporters Michael Bender and J. David Goodman reported the stunt, in which DeSantis paid for the migrants to be flown from Texas to the wealthy liberal enclave, has annoyed Republicans from the Lone Star state, including aides to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, for effectively ripping off their idea:
Publicly, Mr. Abbott has not criticized Mr. DeSantis’s migrant flights from his state. “Every state that wants to help, I’m happy for it,” said Dave Carney, Mr. Abbott’s top campaign strategist.
But privately, the Florida governor’s gambit stung Mr. Abbott’s team. No one in the Texas governor’s office was given a heads-up that Mr. DeSantis planned to round up migrants in San Antonio, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Abbott had spent months — and millions of state tax dollars — methodically orchestrating a relocation program that, since April, had bused 11,000 migrants to Washington, New York and Chicago. Mr. DeSantis’s adaptation was considerably smaller.
But it immediately put the national spotlight on Mr. DeSantis, garnering headlines and earning him praise from Republicans and condemnation from Democrats. It also led to an investigation by the sheriff in San Antonio and a lawsuit from migrants who said they had been lured onto the planes under false pretenses. Mr. DeSantis grabbed the attention of right-wing America, using Mr. Abbott’s tactic, on Mr. Abbott’s turf, to bigger and more dramatic effect.
DeSantis previously expressed his envy for Abbott’s own version of the stunt according to the Times, telling donors last year about “Abbott’s good political fortune to share 1,254 miles of border with Mexico.” He reportedly “complained that he didn’t have the same to use as a backdrop, according to one person familiar with the conversation.”
Both DeSantis and Abbott are up for re-election in November. The 2024 presidential election, in which both Republicans are considered to be potential candidates, kicks off (too) soon after. Read the full Times report here.
