Top Trump Backer Steve Cortes Jumps Off Trump Train In Favor of DeSantis For President
Steve Cortes, political commentator and “informal advisor” to former President Donald Trump, has jumped off the Trump train and is now supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) as the Republican nominee for president.
Matt Wolking, another former Trump campaign aide who’s working for DeSantis Super PAC “Never Back Down,” tweeted about Cortes’ surprise move Tuesday.
“Huge Trump supporter and advocate @CortesSteve announces he’s backing @RonDeSantisFL for president,” Wolking tweeted.
The tweet referred to a recent Newsweek opinion piece, in which Cortes wrote, “Governor Ron DeSantis represents the best possible option to win the presidency in 2024 and to govern as a highly capable, patriotic populist leader.”
“I have worked as a dedicated spokesman and advocate for Donald Trump for much of the last seven years, so I do not arrive at that conclusion flippantly. But our America First movement has always been bigger and more important than any one individual, and heading into this crucial election, our activism and our votes must be guided by a clear-eyed assessment of recent failures and potential future successes,” he added.
Cortes justified his new endorsement by listing “the three most compelling reasons to support Governor DeSantis”:
1. We’ve seen this Biden-Trump movie already—and no one likes it.
2. There is no substitute for victory.
3. Discipline and policy results over chaos.
Cortes was a TV surrogate for the 2016 Trump presidential campaign and was named to the Trump administration’s Hispanic Advisory Council.
After Trump lost the 2020 election, Cortes worked as a contributor to both CNN and Newsmax.
The move from Cortes is a risky one. The Trump campaign is reportedly blackballing operatives who sign up for Team DeSantis.
Trump hasn’t yet commented on Cortes backing DeSantis for president.
