‘Next question’: Donalds brushes off rival Republicans, talks Minneapolis

Credit: Congressman Byron Donalds/Facebook

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, the far and away frontrunner in the Florida gubernatorial race, wasted little time Wednesday on his Republican competitors and lead critics, brushing them off as jealous of his success.

“My rivals would all love to be in my position, and they’re not,” he said during a media briefing at the Florida Capitol when asked about claims that he’s a “DEI hire” with a “thin record” in Congress.

“Next question.”

Trump-endorsed Donalds has amassed a $45 million war chest seven months ahead of the Republican primary. That’s $40 million more than the next highest earner in the race, former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner — who’s begun to attack Donalds on social media for “lying” on a school choice initiative.

Buttressed by sweeping endorsements at all levels and heavy-hitting financial backers, Donalds has started to shift from smaller-scale intra-party sniping to broader political issues. These include both the behind-the-scenes influence of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ operatives and the reckoning on immigration tactics now facing the Trump administration.

Investor James Fishback, a new entrant to the gubernatorial race, has led the charge on lobbing brazen insults at Donalds. He’s partially built his campaign off of personal social media attacks on Donalds, claiming the Black representative is a “slave” to donors and a “DEI hire.”

Fishback, for his part, hasn’t been operating alone.

Christina Pushaw, a top DeSantis staffer, was quietly advising the investor for months — without the governor’s knowledge, she insists. DeSantis has long opposed Donalds succeeding him as governor, telling voters last year that Donalds isn’t active enough as a member of a Congress and missed out on Florida’s conservative wins.

Pushaw and Fishback publicly split after she claimed Fishback was falsely telling people they were dating. Other news organizations have reported that at least one other member of the governor’s office has been quietly advising Fishback.

“I’ll leave that to the governor and his team,” Donalds said of Pushaw Wednesday. “Campaigns all take on a life of their own. … I stay focused on what I’m doing.”

He said that he’ll consider debating fellow candidates after qualifying in June.

“You qualify, then we’ll talk,” he said. “Qualifying for the ballot matters, because that means you’re an actual candidate for governor.”

On Minneapolis: ‘I’m not gonna go that far’

Although Donalds showed little patience for his underfunded challengers, he was more cautious when pressed on a volatile issue roiling the GOP: use of lethal force by immigration agents during protests in Minneapolis.

This month alone, ICE and border patrol have been responsible for two videoed killings of protesters, one of which the administration agreed was justified while the other, the death of Alex Pretti over the weekend, has split the party. The Department of Homeland Security initially claimed Pretti planned to “massacre” law enforcement.

Those misleading comments quickly sparked an ever-evolving blame game within the Trump administration and top immigration officials, Axios reported. Since then, some Republicans have called for an investigation into Pretti’s death while others maintain his death was justified.

Donalds struck a more measured tone.

“I’m not gonna go that far [to say it’s justified]. The investigation will bear that out, but I think it’s important as we level set: a loss of American life is a tragedy. No one wants to see that,” Donalds said. “Mr. Pretti or any other American, you have a right to protest. We will always protect that right. I will protect that right.”

He continued, standing by Americans’ right to bear arms under the Second Amendment while doubling down on his support for immigration authorities and insistence that Minnesota’s leaders comply with federal immigration orders.

“But when you decide, whether it’s Renee Good, to use your vehicle to disrupt law enforcement, which is what she was doing that entire day, and then you’re driving at law enforcement; or in the situation of Mr. Pretti, you were on the sidewalks recording law enforcement and then you decide to impede law enforcement, the entire dynamics change,” he said.

“It’s not as cut and dry. The investigation will bear all this out, and then we’ll go from there.”

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