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Tag: never back down

democrat
August 22, 2023
Jack Montgomery
News
Politics

EXC: DeSantis’s New PAC Chairman Is… a Democrat.

Yet another county chairman for Ron DeSantis’s top super PAC has been exposed as highly questionable, being not merely a Never Trumper with little in common with MAGA conservatives but, in fact, an actual Democrat politician.

James Steinkuehler, who is now a county chairman for the DeSantis ‘Never Back Down PAC’ in Crawford County, Iowa, is also the county’s elected sheriff – representing the Democratic Party. Steinkuehler, who beat Republican Ray Ohl in November 2020, has also thrown his weight behind Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, with his term set to expire next year.

Repeating tactics originally used in Ted Cruz’s failed bid for the Republican nomination, Never Back Down recently unveiled PAC chairmen in all 99 of Iowa’s counties – but they are already doing the Florida Governor more harm than good.

Several, such as Joel Kurtinitis and Matt Wells, are known Never Trumpers who previously served as county chairmen for Cruz. Wells, in particular, has embarrassed the Florida Governor by telling the press MAGA conservatives are “degenerates” and that he would not “piss on Donald Trump if he was on fire.”

Mark Chelgren, another local NBD chairman, tried to pass off a certificate from the now defunct Sizzler steakhouse as a business degree, while Ryan Frederick has threatened to leave his GOP post if Trump is again the nominee, perhaps proving that he will, in fact, back down.

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Yet another county chairman for Ron DeSantis's top super PAC has been exposed as highly questionable, being not merely a Never Trumper with little in common with MAGA conservatives but, in fact, an actual Democrat politician. show more
August 20, 2023
Jack Montgomery
News
Podcast

EXC: DeSantis PAC Chair Claimed ‘Sizzler’ Certificate was Business Degree.

One of the chairmen of Ron DeSantis’s Super PAC ‘Never Back Down’ attempted to pass off a training certificate from the ‘Sizzler’ restaurant chain as a business degree when running for office in Iowa, The National Pulse can reveal.

Mark Chelgren, one of a number of controversial county chairmen for the DeSantis PAC in the Hawkeye State, is a former State Senator who was exposed as having burnished his resume by claiming to have a “degree” in business from Forbco Management – a now-defunct company that ran a Sizzler franchise.

“This was a management course he took when he worked for Sizzler, kind of like Hamburger University at McDonald’s,” admitted a spokesman for the Republican Party in Iowa at the time, confirming Chelgren got a “certificate” rather than a degree.

Image: Iowa Senator Mark Chelgren's biography on his Iowa Senate Republicans page

Chelgren, who approved the bogus biography, played dumb after the ruse came to light, suggesting he didn’t know “a degree and a certificate are different.”

His biography also claimed he “attended the University of California at Riverside majoring in astro-physics, geo-physics and mathematics,” and biographies elsewhere claimed he received a full degree from that institution. He later admitted he did not actually graduate from the University of California.

Chelgren exited the Iowa Senate in 2019, and failed to win reelection to the Iowa House in 2022. He is now the chairman of the Appanoose County, Iowa ‘Never Back Down’ operation.

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One of the chairmen of Ron DeSantis's Super PAC ‘Never Back Down’ attempted to pass off a training certificate from the ‘Sizzler’ restaurant chain as a business degree when running for office in Iowa, The National Pulse can reveal. show more
desantis pac
August 17, 2023
Jack Montgomery
News
Politics

EXC: DeSantis PAC Chair Blasts ‘Racist, Bigoted, Insufferable, Brainless’ South.

Matt Wells, a chairman in Ron DeSantis’s Never Back Down PAC, lambasted the U.S. South and Southerners, bemoaning the “climate of racism and bigotry” and the “hate and distrust emanating from the people,” in comments unearthed by The National Pulse. Wells is best known for recently disparaging MAGA conservatives as “degenerates” and telling leftist reporters he wouldn’t “piss on Donald Trump if he was on fire.”

Wells locked his X (formerly Twitter) account shortly after the first National Pulse report, penning a lengthy blog post refusing to apologize for his comments, which led to the discovery of his heinous, 2016 comments about his fellow Americans.

“I can normally talk to anyone that has more than a few brain cells to rub together. That wasn’t the case in South Carolina and Georgia,” he wrote of his time there, adding: “People in the South are incredibly suspicious of those that are different from them while at the same time being insufferably polite to your face while holding you in contempt as soon as you turn your back.”

Wells also bemoaned, much like the pages of the New York Times, “the still alive climate of racism and bigotry that has long dogged the American South” claiming some towns “are still almost entirely voluntarily (or not) segregated.”

“…the racist climate [in the South] is still alive and well.”

– Matt Wells, DeSantis PAC Chairman.’

Claiming to have been shouted at for “supporting someone with a ‘Cuban’ last name.” Wells also claimed in his lengthy diatribe: “Confederate flag flying homes, almost 100%, could be counted on as a home of a Combover devotee. His supporters speak like him. They use the same empty words and phrases (all with a southern drawl). ‘We’re going to build a wall’, ‘We’ll be so great’, ‘America doesn’t win anymore’, ‘He’ll make good deals’, etc.”

Having described Trump supporters as cultists, Wells concluded by declaring the “‘Bible Belt’ is frayed and the buckle is highly tarnished and the people need true spiritual revival. The one saving grace I cling to is Ted Cruz…”

“I don’t really have a desire to visit the south ever again,” he wrote, expressing hope that “the younger generations are turning away from the backwards thinking down South.”

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Matt Wells, a chairman in Ron DeSantis's Never Back Down PAC, lambasted the U.S. South and Southerners, bemoaning the "climate of racism and bigotry" and the "hate and distrust emanating from the people," in comments unearthed by The National Pulse. Wells is best known for recently disparaging MAGA conservatives as "degenerates" and telling leftist reporters he wouldn't "piss on Donald Trump if he was on fire." show more

Editor’s Notes

Behind-the-scenes political intrigue exclusively for Pulse+ subscribers.

RAHEEM J. KASSAM Editor-in-Chief
So, which is it? Did ‘Never Back Down’ never vet these PAC chairman across Iowa’s 99 counties, or do they stand by Matt Wells and his comments
for exclusive members-only insights
So, which is it? Did ‘Never Back Down’ never vet these PAC chairman across Iowa’s 99 counties, or do they stand by Matt Wells and his comments show more
for exclusive members-only insights
ryan frederick
August 15, 2023
Jack Montgomery
News
Politics

DeSantis PAC Chair Pledges to Resign GOP Job If Trump Is The Nominee.

Governor Ron DeSantis’s Super PAC boldly announced 99 new Iowa county chairs last week, leading to revelations that Washington county chair Matt Wells had recently called Trump supporters “degenerates” and told leftist media outlets that he would not “piss on Trump if he was on fire.” Now, another of the Florida Governor’s picks has declared himself a hardline ‘NeverTrumper’, in comments unearthed by The National Pulse.

Ryan Frederick, who chairs the Never Back Down PAC in Adair County, Iowa, described himself as a “party loyalist” in comments to the press, but declared on X (formerly Twitter) that he “will resign as a county party chairman and probably not participate in the party apparatus again until people come to their senses,” in response to a Trump primary nomination.

Frederick, who has lauded the British monarchy “the ultimate form of government” for “national prestige and accumulat[ing] wealth and status through stability,” also railed: “If we think for 5 minutes that Trump is somehow superior to DeSantis, we don’t deserve to have a political party. The man is a farce, and always has been.”

In a comment to The National Pulse, Frederick elaborated: “I wouldn’t say my mind is totally made up on that point, but I’ve been a county party chairman for nearly 20 years, and frankly I think we’re foolish if we think Donald Trump is a better candidate than Ron DeSantis. The most important thing this party has to do right now is to nominate someone who can win the election next year, and the obvious choice is Gov. DeSantis. We have the opportunity to make generational change and to move the Republican Party light years into the future, rather than brooding on the past. If we squander that opportunity, I’m not sure I’ve got energy left to continue at the level I’ve been involved heretofore. Simple as that.”

Several of Never Back Down’s county chairmen in Iowa appear to be NeverTrumpers, including Joel Kurtinitis (Dallas County) who penned lengthy articles against Trump in 2016, and Matt Wells, who has lambasted Trump supporters in worse-than-Clintonian terms as “degenerates”.

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Governor Ron DeSantis's Super PAC boldly announced 99 new Iowa county chairs last week, leading to revelations that Washington county chair Matt Wells had recently called Trump supporters "degenerates" and told leftist media outlets that he would not "piss on Trump if he was on fire." Now, another of the Florida Governor's picks has declared himself a hardline 'NeverTrumper', in comments unearthed by The National Pulse. show more

Editor’s Notes

Behind-the-scenes political intrigue exclusively for Pulse+ subscribers.

RAHEEM J. KASSAM Editor-in-Chief
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa: a monarchist?! Maybe these DeSantis people aren’t so bad after all! Ha! But really, I think it’s Mr
for exclusive members-only insights
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa: a monarchist?! Maybe these DeSantis people aren’t so bad after all! Ha! But really, I think it’s Mr show more
for exclusive members-only insights
matt wolking
August 14, 2023
William Upton
News
Politics

Ron’s Comms Boss Matt Wolking Invented a Trump Camp Quote, then Freaked Out When Challenged.

Matt Wolking, the Strategic Communications Director for the pro-Ron DeSantis Super PAC ‘Never Back Down’, appeared to invent quotes from within the Trump presidential campaign on Monday, before having a very public meltdown after he was quizzed on the matter.

Wolking – on loan from DeSantis campaign chief Jeff Roe’s embattled Axiom Strategies – refused to provide evidence of his claim that the “Trump camp” is “livid” about his meeting with reporter Laura Loomer on Sunday at Bedminster.

The National Pulse’s editor-in-chief, Raheem Kassam, challenged Wolking’s unsourced quote.

Not only could the Never Back Down ‘Strategic Communications Director’ not provide a source for his quote, but Wolking quickly melted down, attacking this conservative news site – The National Pulse – and its Brexit-backing editor.

Prior to joining Jeff Roe’s Axiom – and subsequently the Never Back Down Super PAC controlled by Roe and staffed by Axiom employees – Wolking worked as the deputy communications director on former President Donald Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, where he routinely asked for support from The National Pulse and its staff.

Axiom Strategies and the DeSantis Super PAC have been plagued with controversy since the start of the presidential campaign. Intent on alienating masses of conservative voters, the firm is also facing a massive lawsuit in Nevada over accusations of fraudulent campaign work, including falsified and obscene petition signatures.

Roe himself – a long-time Republican establishment consultant – recently offered to pay corporate media start-up ‘Puck’ up to $11 million to stop writing about him.

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Matt Wolking, the Strategic Communications Director for the pro-Ron DeSantis Super PAC 'Never Back Down', appeared to invent quotes from within the Trump presidential campaign on Monday, before having a very public meltdown after he was quizzed on the matter. show more
August 13, 2023
Jack Montgomery
News
Politics

DeSantis PAC Chair: MAGA Are ‘Degenerates’, ‘ I Wouldn’t Piss On Trump If He Was on Fire’.

One of the Iowa county chairmen announced by Ron DeSantis’s Super PAC this week has declared that Trump supporters are “degenerates” and that he “wouldn’t piss on Donald Trump if he was on fire!”

Matt Wells, who boasts of having spent “the whole day” with Governor DeSantis in Iowa, was even more explicit about his disdain for the 45th President and his supporters, in yet another embarrassing saga for the botched DeSantis campaign:

“He could be burning to death, I would find a bathroom five miles away,” seethed Wells, a supposedly committed Christian who chairs the Never Back Down PAC in Washington County, in comments to the far left Huffington Post.

Wells had been infuriated after an airplane carrying a banner reading ‘Be Likable, Ron!’ had passed over an event where the Floridian was speaking.

“Trump people are degenerates,” he told POLITICO.

Figures like Wells seem unlikely picks to be able to win over MAGA conservatives that DeSantis has been courting.

Wells was a fierce Never Trumper in 2016, leaving the GOP altogether after the election and vowing he would never support Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds in 2017 – although he is now once again a GOP official, and white-knighting for Reynolds on social media due to her perceived alignment with DeSantis.

The fact Wells was chosen by Never Back Down as a leader of its high-profile ground campaign speaks to the failure of DeSantis, long billed as “Trump without the baggage,” to win over MAGA converts, forcing his surrogates to rely on unreconstructed Never Trumpers and a handful of questionable mega-donors to campaign.

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One of the Iowa county chairmen announced by Ron DeSantis’s Super PAC this week has declared that Trump supporters are "degenerates" and that he "wouldn’t piss on Donald Trump if he was on fire!" show more

Editor’s Notes

Behind-the-scenes political intrigue exclusively for Pulse+ subscribers.

RAHEEM J. KASSAM Editor-in-Chief
In their haste to make an announcement of something positive this week, it looks like Team DeSantis has put together quite the questionable group of Iowa county chairs
for exclusive members-only insights
In their haste to make an announcement of something positive this week, it looks like Team DeSantis has put together quite the questionable group of Iowa county chairs show more
for exclusive members-only insights
jeff roe
August 11, 2023
William Upton
News

DeSantis Chief Offers $11M to Corporate Media To Stop Writing About Him.

Jeff Roe – the top establishment strategist advising Ron DeSantis’s ‘Never Back Down PAC’ – bemoaned the scrutiny of his operation, offering media start-up Puck $11 million to stop writing about him in what turned into a breakdown on social media on Thursday evening.

Roe, who runs the embattled “Axiom Strategies” which just tightened its grip on the DeSantis operation, responded to a tweet from reporter Tara Palmeri who announced Puck had just raised $10M for an expansion of its news operations. Roe shot back: “I’ll buy in for $11M if my name isn’t in your publication again” – a bizarre inducement to the media to stop reporting on his activities.

Roe’s angry outburst drew the attention of Chris LaCivita, senior advisor to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. LaCivita jabbed Roe over Never Back Down ineffective support for the DeSantis campaign.

LaCivita appeared to have struck a nerve with Roe, whose Axiom Strategies – and its subsidiaries – have seen nearly 50 percent of Never Back Down’s campaign spending reach its company accounts. Roe responded with what can only be described as a bizarre series of posts, escalating in anger:

Jeff Roe, considered a “heavyweight” in Missouri politics, drew harsh criticism and condemnation from the likes of former U.S. Senator Jack Danforth for producing a controversial radio ad that is alleged to have played a role in the 2015 suicide of gubernatorial candidate Tom Schweich.

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Jeff Roe – the top establishment strategist advising Ron DeSantis's 'Never Back Down PAC' – bemoaned the scrutiny of his operation, offering media start-up Puck $11 million to stop writing about him in what turned into a breakdown on social media on Thursday evening. show more
August 4, 2023
William Upton
News

DeSantis’s Largest Donor Says He’s Done Unless There’s ANOTHER Shake-Up.

Billionaire Robert Bigelow is telling Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his campaign that he’ll cut off funds unless there are further changes made to the beleaguered and amateurish campaign.

Bigelow, a hotel tycoon and founder of Bigelow Aerospace is the largest single donor to The pro-DeSantis super PAC, ‘Never Back Down’, with over $20 million given. The billionaire UFO enthusiast had harsh words for the campaign when asked if he’d continue his financial support:

“Not until I see that he’s able to generate more on his own. I’m already too big a percentage… A lot of his donors are still on the fence.” Bigelow said, adding: “He does need to shift to get to moderates. He’ll lose if he doesn’t.”

Gov. DeSantis’s campaign has suffered numerous gaffes and scandals over the past several weeks including the firing of a campaign speech writer who created pro-DeSantis video featuring Nazi imagery, revelations that consultant Jeff Roe’s nebulous network of companies have been the recipients of nearly 50 percent of Never Back Down’s campaign spending, and a leak of campaign communications exposing a reckless and alienating communications strategy. Additionally the DeSantis campaign has struggled to attract small donors, and has either stagnated in state primary polls or seen their numbers completely collapse with other Republican candidates like Vivek Ramaswamy over taking the Florida Governor.

Bigelow – a friend and donor to the late Nevada Democrat and former U.S. Senator Harry Reid – isn’t the first DeSantis support to sound the alarm on the languishing presidential campaign. Ed Rollins, a long-time Republican political strategist and early supporter of the governor, has jumped ship calling DeSantis a ‘flawed candidate’.

This latest blow to Ron DeSantis’s presidential ambitions is sure to only further fuel rumors on social media that long-time DeSantis ally and campaign manager Generra Peck may be on her way out, along with much of the beleaguered communications team – including senior staffers Bryan Griffin, Jeremy Redfern, and Christina Pushaw (a registered foreign agent representing disgraced ex Georgian/Ukrainian politician Mikheil Saakashvili).

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Billionaire Robert Bigelow is telling Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his campaign that he'll cut off funds unless there are further changes made to the beleaguered and amateurish campaign. show more
never back down
July 25, 2023
Jack Montgomery
News

SHOCK: DeSantis’s ‘Never Back Down’ PAC May Pivot to Scott, Youngkin.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s own ‘Never Back Down’ super PAC could soon morph into ‘Not Backing DeSantis’, with controversial consultant grifter Jeff Roe reportedly telling donors unhappy with the Florida Governor’s dismal polling that he may pivot to supporting Tim Scott, or even Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.

The National Pulse’s own sourcing on this matter was also confirmed by Caroline Wren, senior advisor to Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who says Roe has been telling disgruntled donors that Never Back Down could “support other candidates than just Ron DeSantis, which is a strange thing to say unless you’re starting to lay the groundwork of a potential DeSantis exit.”

Wren told Steve Bannon’s War Room show on Thursday: “I think it’s because some donors are starting to ask: ‘Hey, why am I giving to you? You have $120 million already cash on hand in this PAC, and DeSantis’s numbers are just crumbling.'”

“I think it’s a tool that they’re using to leave an opening to say, hey, if [DeSantis] gets out, we can just morph this into a different PAC – and does it get morphed into a PAC to run candidates against America First Senate candidates and House candidates? Or does it become an entity that supports a new candidate that gets in? Or does it become an entity that supports Tim Scott?”

– Caroline Wren

Senator Scott, who used “never back down” as his slogan in 2022, is going slow in the polls at present, tied for fourth place alongside Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, and Chris Christie on three percent.

Meanwhile, a number of sources close to Team DeSantis have told The National Pulse they expect Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, also a client of Roe’s, to jump in the race and benefit from the consultant’s backing.

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's own 'Never Back Down' super PAC could soon morph into 'Not Backing DeSantis', with controversial consultant grifter Jeff Roe reportedly telling donors unhappy with the Florida Governor's dismal polling that he may pivot to supporting Tim Scott, or even Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin. show more
never back down
May 27, 2023
News

DeSantis’s ‘Never Back Down’ PAC Advisor Backs Down, Leaves PAC.

Long-time Ron DeSantis advisor Phil Cox is “stepping down” from his role with the Florida governor’s presidential campaign political action committee: the ‘Never Back Down PAC’. The news comes one month after The National Pulse revealed that Cox was also a partner at the parent firm of pro-DeSantis pollster, Gp3, also known as ‘POS Strategies’.

Cox served as the political director for DeSantis’s reelection campaign just last year, and was described as leading “the strategy and messaging for the super PAC.”

A board member for Mitch McConnell’s Senate Leadership Fund, Cox’s reason for departure is still unknown, with POLITICO reporter Alex Isenstadt reporting: “Phil Cox is stepping down from his volunteer role at the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down super PAC, per person familiar. People close to Cox say he remains a supporter of DeSantis.”

Bizarrely, Cox was spotted golfing a few hours before Donald Trump himself teed off at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, on Thursday.

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Long-time Ron DeSantis advisor Phil Cox is "stepping down" from his role with the Florida governor's presidential campaign political action committee: the 'Never Back Down PAC'. The news comes one month after The National Pulse revealed that Cox was also a partner at the parent firm of pro-DeSantis pollster, Gp3, also known as 'POS Strategies'. show more

Editor’s Notes

Behind-the-scenes political intrigue exclusively for Pulse+ subscribers.

RAHEEM J. KASSAM Editor-in-Chief
The scuttlebutt so far is that Jeff Roe, the chief strategist in Tallahassee, has been lumping the blame for the campaign’s missteps on Cox, and he had enough of it
for exclusive members-only insights
The scuttlebutt so far is that Jeff Roe, the chief strategist in Tallahassee, has been lumping the blame for the campaign’s missteps on Cox, and he had enough of it show more
for exclusive members-only insights