Unsurprisingly, Disney-owned ABC News was ebullient on Monday’s Good Morning America with the news from Sunday afternoon that Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) – who took on and embarrassed the Sunshine State behemoth — had dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, calling it an “implosion” and “spectacular failure” that hadn’t been seen in American history.
Having helped in vanquishing their most-hated candidate, ABC pivoted to their preferred candidate, former President Trump, and proclaimed he’s not only continuing to spew lies on various issues, but is the 2024 candidate in cognitive decline. Nowhere was it mentioned that President Biden has shown a major mental decline and has voters across the spectrum concerned.
Congressional correspondent Rachel Scott spent the campaign seething about DeSantis, so it was only natural for her to offer a bit of revelry herself:
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suddenly suspending his 2024 campaign. He was considering the future of the Republican Party, with the best shot at defeating Donald Trump. But his campaign struggled from the start, burning through cash plagued by infighting and layoffs. Just days ago, he complained about the party's deep loyalty to Trump.
Co-host and former Clinton official George Stephanopoulos had his own two cents in the next block alongside chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl: “Jon, The New York Times had the right headline this morning on DeSantis: ‘Implosion of his campaign.’”
Karl, a three-time, best-selling anti-Trump author, was exhilarated at DeSantis’s departure and thus swooned about his bid having been “a spectacular failure, one of the greatest in all of American politics.”
Earth to Jon: What was Jeb! 2016 then? Or Phil Gramm 1996? Or Kamala Harris 2020? The Spectator’s Ben Domenech went through these and seven other doozies that he might want to read up on.
Karl’s perky mood at the idea of more Trump book sales filling his coffers must have clouded his cartoonish logic for why DeSantis lost:
DeSantis, if you go back to about a year ago, was actually beating Donald Trump in several polls. There was a December 22 poll in The New York — in — in The Wall Street Journal that had him up 14 points over Trump. He spent some $150 million if you count all the money from his super PAC, and he did nothing but go down and down and down. Basically, George, one big factor: He never took the fight to Donald Trump until he was already mortally wounded as a candidate.
Ah, so DeSantis not defining his campaign as anti-Trump was what did him in? If wasting time on a single issue would have made improved his odds, why didn’t it work for Chris Christie?
After some banter about Trump being set to smoke Nikki Haley Tuesday night in New Hampshire, the pair pivoted to the former President and painted him as cognitively in decline, “showing more and more confusion in his stump speeches” such as confusing Haley with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) (click “expand”):
STEPHANOPOULOS: And, out on the campaign trail, we played that clip in Rachel’s piece, on Friday night, he’s been showing more and more confusion in his stump speeches.
KARL: George, that moment which, by the way, the Biden campaign has already cut into an ad, is really something. Donald Trump is truly confused about who Nikki Haley is, thinks she somehow she was in charge of security at the capitol on January 6, clearly confusing her with Nancy Pelosi. But we've seen him confuse Joe Biden with Barack Obama. He thinks that he beat Obama. We saw, at one point, he talked about how Biden was going to get us into World War II. So, that — there has been — there have been moments and there have been several moments on the campaign trail where — where he has seemed quite frankly out of it.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And in a moment, she should underscore he's confusing Nikki Haley for Nancy Pelosi as he's telling a lie —
KARL: Yeah.
STEPHANOPOULOS: — about Nancy Pelosi.
KARL: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Of course, Nancy Pelosi was Speaker of the House. She was not in charge of security, though — [LAUGHS]— at — at the Capitol. And he says he offered her troops which, again, is not true. But, regardless, it’s not just the lie. It’s that he doesn’t — he’s confused about who Nikki Haley is. The person he's running against. And you can see it in that clip that we played just part of. He says Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley. It’s like he's looking to find it in his brain somewhere.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Looking for the word.
What world are these clowns living in? Where were they when Joe Biden couldn’t remember the name of his secretary of defense, mumbled about wanting to go to bed, lying about being at Ground Zero on 9/11, falsely claiming his home caught fire, proclaiming there was “honor” in the Holocaust, or calling out to a House Republican he thought was in the audience when, in fact, she had died?
In contrast, CBS Mornings didn’t bother to do any sort of post-op on DeSantis’s campaign while, on NBC’s Today, senior Washington correspondent Hallie Jackson chose to deal in reality for why voters rejected DeSantis and embraced Trump. The answer? The four criminal indictments by Democrat prosecutors.
To see the relevant ABC transcript from January 22, click “expand.”
ABC’s Good Morning America
January 22, 2024
7:07 a.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: New This Morning; DeSantis Drops Out; Florida Governor Endorses Trump Ahead of Tomorrow’s Primary]
RACHEL SCOTT: This morning the Republican primary is now a two-person race.
GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS (R-FL): I can't ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don't have a clear path to victory.
SCOTT: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suddenly suspending his 2024 campaign. He was considering the future of the Republican Party, with the best shot at defeating Donald Trump. But his campaign struggled from the start, burning through cash plagued by infighting and layoffs. Just days ago, he complained about the party's deep loyalty to Trump.
DESANTIS: You could be the lousiest Republican in America but if you kiss the ring, he likes you.
SCOTT: Now, quickly reversing course and endorsing him.
DESANTIS: It's clear to me a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance. [SCREEN WIPE] He has my endorsement because we can't go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear, a repackage of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents.
SCOTT: His exit from the race coming just 24 hours before the New Hampshire primary.
(....)
7:09 a.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Live on GMA; DeSantis Drops Out; Can Nikki Haley Stop Donald Trump]
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Let's bring in our chief Washington correspondent, Jon Karl. Jon, The New York Times had the right headline this morning on DeSantis: “Implosion of his campaign.”
JONATHAN KARL: This is — was a spectacular failure, one of the greatest in all of American politics. I mean, DeSantis, if you go back to about a year ago, was actually beating Donald Trump in several polls. There was a December 22 poll in The New York — in — in The Wall Street Journal that had him up 14 points over Trump. He spent some $150 million if you count all the money from his super PAC, and he did nothing but go down and down and down. Basically, George, one big factor: He never took the fight to Donald Trump until he was already mortally wounded as a candidate.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Nikki Haley has been edging toward taking the fight to Donald Trump. Two-person race right now and she's behind in New Hampshire, but even if she wins, It’s a tough path going forward.
KARL: Yeah, but New Hampshire voters will go to the polls tomorrow knowing it is a one on one race, knowing that, if Nikki Haley lose, Donald Trump is all but certain to be the Republican nominee and that all that would stand between Donald Trump getting back into the White House is an 81-year-old Joe Biden, so New Hampshire will know. Polls suggest, even despite that, Trump has a lead, but we will see.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You mention Joe Biden, but also a series of court cases that Donald Trump is facing. He’s going to be in the courtroom today. And, out on the campaign trail, we played that clip in Rachel’s piece, on Friday night, he’s been showing more and more confusion in his stump speeches.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Live on GMA; One Day to New Hampshire Primary; Haley Raises Questions About Trump’s Mental Fitness]
KARL: George, that moment which, by the way, the Biden campaign has already cut into an ad, is really something. Donald Trump is truly confused about who Nikki Haley is, thinks she somehow she was in charge of security at the capitol on January 6, clearly confusing her with Nancy Pelosi. But we've seen him confuse Joe Biden with Barack Obama. He thinks that he beat Obama. We saw, at one point, he talked about how Biden was going to get us into World War II. So, that — there has been — there have been moments and there have been several moments on the campaign trail where — where he has seemed quite frankly out of it.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And in a moment, she should underscore he's confusing Nikki Haley for Nancy Pelosi as he's telling a lie —
KARL: Yeah.
STEPHANOPOULOS: — about Nancy Pelosi.
KARL: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Of course, Nancy Pelosi was Speaker of the House. She was not in charge of security, though — [LAUGHS]— at — at the Capitol. And he says he offered her troops which, again, is not true. But, regardless, it’s not just the lie. It’s that he doesn’t — he’s confused about who Nikki Haley is. The person he's running against. And you can see it in that clip that we played just part of. He says Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley. It’s like he's looking to find it in his brain somewhere.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Looking for the word. Jon Karl, thank you very much.
ROBERTS: And, George, let me ask you something. I was taken by your Instagram post over the weekend. This is very familiar territory to you.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Live on GMA; One Day to New Hampshire Primary; Does It All Come Down to the Granite State?]
STEPHANOPOULOS: Oh yeah. I mean, I first worked the New Hampshire primary back in 1988 —
ROBERTS: Dukakis.
STEPHANOPOULOS: — for Michael Dukakis and then covered every single primary since the 2000 campaign. But this is a very different New Hampshire primary this time around. Usually, you have a gaggle full of candidates on both sides. Competitive — competitive primaries on both sides.. You really don't this time around. And, by Wednesday morning, we very well could see the general election face-off, Donald Trump versus Joe Biden.
ROBERTS: Biden’s running —
KARL: The longest general election of — of our lifetimes.
ROBERTS: — right. Exactly.
KARL: Yeah.
ROBERTS: It’s something.
STEPHANOPOUSLO: Mmhmm.
ROBERTS: Thank you both, gentlemen.
KARL: Thank you.
(....)
8:03 a.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Breaking at 8; DeSantis Drops Out; Florida Governor Endorses Trump Ahead of Tomorrow’s Primary]
SCOTT: The Florida governor was long seen as the future of the Republican Party, with the best shot of defeating the former President in this primary. Just days ago, he complained about the party's loyalty to the former President. Well, he was quick to drop out and then suddenly endorse Trump, insisting that Republican voters had made it clear they want to give the former president another opportunity in this race.
