Like 'Apple without Steve Jobs': GOP rep says Trump rivals lost due to running on 'false premise'
Following Donald Trump's declared victory over GOP opponents Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley during Monday night's Iowa Caucus, two GOP hardliners — both representing DeSantis' beloved Sunshine State — shared their candid thoughts on the MAGA hopeful's win with Politico's Meridith McGraw.
US Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) told McGraw, "I think what his opponents were testing was a false premise — they were you know talking to Republicans that we can get at all of the Trump policies and the America First agenda without Trump. To me that has always been like saying well we can get SpaceX without Elon Musk, or Apple without Steve Jobs. I could go on."
Likewise, US Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), the staunch Trump supporter who led and won the charge to oust US Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the House Speakership, emphasized "that there isn't a quiet Trump voter out there. They show up." The Florida governor and former South Carolina governor, he added, are "wonderful people but they're not going to be president."
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Politico's Steven Shepard reports, "DeSantis and Haley are going to finish around 20 percent — some 30 points behind Trump."
READ MORE: Trump’s 'landslide' Iowa victory 'first step' to 'revenge': expert
