Jenna Ellis, former chief legal counsel to Donald Trump during his 2020 re-election campaign, is stepping up attacks on the former president.
Ellis has most often defended Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has yet to formally declare his presidential bid, though reports have hinted he could enter the Republican fray as early as this month. She has not formally endorsed DeSantis, Trump or anyone else in the Republican primary.
He previously tweeted and made other public statements about Trump and his supporters, accusing them of various forms of harassment due to their change of political allegiance.
The presidential commercials my homeschool group did when I was 6 to teach civics were far superior to this one. https://t.co/is6y70LdYB
— Jenna Ellis 🐊🇺🇸 (@JennaEllisEsq) May 1, 2023
The pro-Trump MAGA War Room Political Action Committee (PAC) has consistently attacked DeSantis’ character and policies in recent weeks, with a new announcement tweeted Monday stating: “DeSantis is not ready to be president, and the World leaders know it.”
Using a real-life clip of DeSantis responding to a reporter’s question about his lack of support in the polls compared to Trump, the ad contains a fictional call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. ; the latter says that DeSantis is “flipppy-floppy”. about Ukraine” and “was mocked by Mickey Mouse”.
Disney recently sued DeSantis for what the company has alleged was improper retaliation for opposition to its so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation.
“The presidential commercials my homeschool group did when I was 6 to teach civics were far superior to this one,” Ellis tweeted Monday.
Jason Kempin/Getty
In April, he issued a series of tweets criticizing some conservatives for offensive attacks against him. Ellis has warned that such tactics will hurt the Trump campaign, especially in terms of female voters.
“Trump 2024 message to women like me and Erin Perrine,” he tweeted last month, referring to a Trump 2020 communications official who now supports DeSantis. “Either you are 100% all the time or you deserve to be bullied.”
“Sexual harassment, threats of violence and comparisons to sex workers are never legally or ethically okay,” Ellis said. news week in a statement last month. “It’s not about taking offense at a meme, it’s about not violating the law and basic standards of decency while engaging in political discourse.”
Trump and his current group of advisers and lawyers have reportedly become aware of Ellis’s tweets and statements, according to the daily beast.
“All started when [Ellis] she went to a DeSantis event in Doral and made sure to post pictures of her with her social media influencers, almost like she was trying to rub it in,” a source said. the daily beast. “Now she’s sorry for his transgressions. Fuck you and find out.”
Another source reportedly said that Trump “thinks she’s a terrible lawyer, he’s very down with her.”
Last month, Ellis was censured by the regulation attorney’s office in her home state of Colorado for making 10 “misrepresentations” on television and Twitter as Trump tried to misrepresent the 2020 election results.
news week contacted Ellis and the Trump campaign by email for comment.
A ‘caution’ on Trump’s chances in 2024
Susan MacManus, Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of South Florida, said news week via phone that the Trump-DeSantis conversation has engulfed political talks in the state for the past two to three months.
“But what is curious… at my last count, two or three of your current employees work for the opposition,” MacManus said. “So, Trump has stolen people from the old DeSantis campaign and vice versa.
“It’s the campaign season. Maybe one of them offered them more to move on. Most likely it was something they weren’t interested in, or was slighted in their current campaign cycle for a position you don’t know about. But it’s really obvious for Floridians tracking this and there have been each side with people who have abandoned them and moved to the opposition.”
She said Trump’s various legal battles, along with attacks on behalf of his campaign and supporters that have been scrutinized by Ellis and others, are causing a sense of unease among voters across the state.
Floridians worry about a repeat of Trump’s 2020 loss to Joe Biden.
“Women voters don’t particularly like name calling, and obviously DeSantis is looking at the same type of polls as everyone else,” she said. “That is one side. The question is, is there suspicion with the name of the same thing that there is suspicion with some of the other things that happen with Trump?
“DeSantis has to carve out a path that is different from Trump, but still get something out of it. [Trump voters] in. Ultimately, independent voters who tend to be younger and female, it’s not exactly essential; In fact, it’s alienating for a race to just put names down instead of discussing issues.”