According to a new report from Politico, the chief super PAC that backed Ron DeSantis’ failed presidential campaign quietly send a sizeable chunk of money to a pop-up group that dedicated millions to attacking Trump over the summer.
The anti-Trump organization, Win it Back, was funneled around $2.75 million from the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down PAC.
DeSantis’ super PAC was Win it Back’s second-biggest donor.
This all happened right at the time that Win it Back spent a total of over $6 million on ads, text messages, and a field program to stop Trump’s 2024 bid.
Take a look:
Ron DeSantis super PAC quietly funnelled money into anti-Trump group
Did you know that DeSantis “influencers” are still getting paid to attack Trump and his supporters online?
You must never unite with these people. They are depraved, soulless, freaks. https://t.co/R9ErRmJEpO
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) January 31, 2024
And there it is pic.twitter.com/SR5bbTDaUl
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) January 31, 2024
Politico originally reported on the details:
The chief group backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential bid made a $2.75 million cash infusion to a pop-up super PAC right around the time that group spent millions attacking former President Donald Trump
The payments from the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down to Win It Back PAC — a group linked to Club for Growth — were revealed in the latter group’s filings with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday. Win It Back PAC spent more than $6.4 million on digital and TV ads over the summer opposing Trump’s candidacy. It also funded a field program and text messaging.
Win it Back is linked with longtime anti-Trump conservative group Club for Growth, which opposed Trump in 2016.
Back in July, NBC News reported on Win it Back’s (unsuccessful) efforts to damage Trump’s campaign:
A new group affiliated with the conservative Club for Growth is launching almost $3.5 million worth of TV ads this week urging GOP primary voters in South Carolina and Iowa to move on from former President Donald Trump.
In ads run by Win It Back PAC, a white male voter tells viewers, “I love Donald Trump. I love what he did.”
He adds, “He was attacked all the time and it seemed like, you know, it just seemed non-stop. The drama … He’s got so many distractions. The constant fighting — something every day — and I’m not sure he can focus on moving the country forward.”
The man in the ad doesn’t endorse another Republican candidate, but does say near the end of the ad, “I mean, we definitely need somebody that can freaking win. I think you’d probably lose that bet if you voted for Trump.”
The officials behind Win It Back include Club for Growth president David McIntosh, who publicly stated earlier this year that his organization likely wouldn’t back Trump’s re-election bid in the 2024 GOP primary.
“The party should be open to another candidate,” David McIntosh, the president of the group, told the New York Times in February.
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