Former President Donald Trump’s campaign accused Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) of plagiarizing the phrase “Great American Comeback” from the 45th president following his campaign launch on Wednesday.
In his campaign announcement video, DeSantis touted his vision “to lead our Great American Comeback,” which was also the caption that accompanied the ad when he tweeted it out.
I’m running for president to lead our Great American Comeback. pic.twitter.com/YmkWkLaVDg
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) May 24, 2023
Hours later, Trump’s campaign noted that the 45th president used those exact words during his third State of the Union address.
“Amid a catastrophic failure to launch, Ron DeSantis announced his candidacy with ‘Great American Comeback,’ a phrase stolen from President Donald J. Trump’s 2020 State of the Union address,” the campaign stated in a release shared via email.
Ron DeSantis Copies President Trump’s “Great American Comeback” pic.twitter.com/huS4DHN8Ff
— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) May 25, 2023
What’s more, Trump used the phrase in his first sentence of the State of the Union after acknowledging then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and then-Vice President Mike Pence:
Three years ago, we launched the great American comeback. Tonight, I stand before you to share the incredible results. Jobs are booming, incomes are soaring, poverty is plummeting, crime is falling, confidence is surging, and our country is thriving and highly respected again… America’s enemies are on the run, America’s fortunes are on the rise, and America’s future is blazing bright.
Trump teased the theme ahead of the State of the Union, as USA Today noted at the time. He also put out an advertisement during the 2020 general election entitled “Great American Comeback.”
The accusation comes soon after DeSantis launched his campaign during a Twitter Space with the platform’s CEO, Elon Musk. The announcement started with extreme technical difficulties, with the audio repeatedly cutting out, and they ultimately started a new Twitter Space after several minutes.
Trump’s team hit the DeSantis campaign over the troubles in its release.
“Perhaps, the DeSantis communications staff was preoccupied attempting to extinguish the flames of their candidate’s announcement to come up with their own message,” the campaign wrote.
The conundrum for DeSantis comes hours after fellow candidate, former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC), blasted him for “copying Trump” from policies to hand gestures while speaking with Fox News’s Paul Steinhauser.
2024 Watch-NEW: @NikkiHaley – in New Hampshire as @RonDeSantis gets ready to announce his candidacy tonight, argues the Florida governor “is copying” #DonaldTrump – “He needs to be his own person” https://t.co/0GmRir5bMu #2024Election #FITN #scpol #iacaucus #flapol #FoxNews pic.twitter.com/UWwsnGxskn
— Paul Steinhauser (@steinhauserNH1) May 24, 2023
Haley said:
I’m just mentioning what everybody else is saying. I mean, you look at the fact, the way he speaks, the way his hand gestures are, the fact that he’s moved his policies. Whether its Ukraine and Russia to entitlement reform – he’s done a total 180. All of its copying Trump. He needs to be his own person. He needs to get out there and say what he believes, what he thinks. If he’s just going to be an echo for Trump, people will just vote for Trump.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung accused DeSantis of also “stealing” Trump’s policy platform surrounding the college accreditation system.
President Trump proposed this weeks ago. DeSantis is just stealing policy now. https://t.co/cG71zZJQ97 https://t.co/aVmBEqRUAn
— Steven Cheung (@TheStevenCheung) May 25, 2023
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