Former President Donald Trump and his allies are advising other Republican campaigns not to hire a former strategist to a political action committee (PAC) supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential bid, Politico reported Thursday.
Jeff Roe served as the top strategist to Never Back Down until mid-December when he resigned following an article written by The Washington Post that detailed internal disagreements between the DeSantis-supporting super PAC and the campaign. Trump and his team have cautioned GOP candidates down ballot not to work with Roe or his consulting firm Axiom Strategies in order to stay in the former president’s good graces, four sources familiar with the deliberations told Politico.
“It’s an open secret that candidates who want to stay on President Trump’s good side should not hire Axiom,” one of the sources familiar, a top Republican strategist, told Politico. “They are enemy No. 1.”
Roe helped lead Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin‘s successful 2021 campaign where he inched out ahead of former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe by 2 points, flipping the state’s executive red for the first time since 2013. Trump reportedly considered hiring Roe to head his 2024 presidential campaign, but ultimately decided against it, according to the Post.
“Team Trump has made clear that hiring Jeff Roe is the fastest way for a candidate to get President Trump to endorse their opponent,” another GOP strategist familiar with the targeting told Politico. “That is of great concern for candidates considering hiring Roe. If President Trump endorses your opponent, your odds go way down in a primary.”
Following the strategist’s exit from Never Back Down, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, “Jeff Roe is out—GAME OVER for DeSanctimonious!”
DeSantis has been polling in a distant second place behind Trump in the Republican primary for the majority of the cycle until former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley edged him out in national and key early nominating state surveys toward the end of 2023, according to the RealClearPolitics (RCP) averages.
Trump received a massive win in Iowa on Monday with 51% support, followed by DeSantis at 21.2%, Haley at 19.1% and conservative businessman Vivek Ramaswamy at 7.7%, according to The Associated Press. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson have recently dropped out of the race.
New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary is on Tuesday. Two recent surveys for the Granite State show that Trump has a 14-point lead on Haley, while DeSantis lags behind with 6% support, according to the RCP average.
Roe declined to comment, and Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s inquiry.
Mary Lou Masters on January 18, 2024
