Exclusive — Donald Trump Jr.: Never Trump Billionaire Donor Movement Largely Behind DeSantis Bid

The Never Trump billionaire donor movement is largely behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s presidential bid because they want a president they can “control,” Donald Trump Jr. told Breitbart News during an exclusive interview at the Turning Point Action Conference in West Palm Beach, Florida.

When asked why DeSantis did not attend the event taking place in his home state despite being invited, Don Jr. made it clear that the event was an “America First” event, despite DeSantis influencers deeming it a “MAGA” event. Further, Donald Trump Jr. pointed to a pattern.

“I live here. I live right up the road and Gov. DeSantis hasn’t been here seemingly in months. You had flooding a couple months ago in Fort Lauderdale. And he was on his perpetual book tour that was, you know, the three-month long book tour,” he said, adding, “I have two best sellers, and I’ve never seen a book tour go that long in my life.”

Don Jr. reacted to the latest news of the DeSantis team laying off staff due to money issues and added that his small-dollar donors are “almost non-existent, making up 15 percent of his take.” Further, Don Jr. said most of the money from DeSantis’s Super PAC is coming from Jeff Roe entities.

“I think it’s a big joke. You can create a lot of personality with social media influencers, as they have done for the last two years sort of de facto running against Trump. The reality is, in a Republican primary, like eventually you have to put that guy on the stage. And let’s just say, you know, once you get to know Ron DeSantis, you get to not like Ron DeSantis,” Don Jr. said, explaining that he has likely done more for the governor than any other person that was not a paid employee of his campaign.

When asked why DeSantis, who to many was arguably the heir apparent in 2028, would jeopardize that status by running against Trump now, the president’s eldest son pointed to Never Trump billionaire donors.

“I think that’s sort of the Never Trump billionaire donor movement, right? The people who you know, they say they’re for America, but you know, if they can get their widget for half a cent cheaper by getting it from China, that’s their guy,” he said, describing them as people who are “all in on the Ukraine war.”

“The billionaire donor class, they don’t align with America First. They’re not with the hard-working blue-collar men and women that my father was fighting for. And you saw that right? You saw the interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox, he [DeSantis] took a ‘Trump Light,’ let’s call it, approach on Ukraine, and then two days later, well, ‘I changed my mind because I got a phone call from you know, one of umpteen billionaire donors who want to control their president,'” he said, concluding that DeSantis will do what it takes to please those people to move himself forward. Because of that, he continued, voters need to wonder if he will truly be devoted to the American people — not the billionaire donor class — if he makes it to the White House.

“I think it’s pretty clear, as evidenced by the small-dollar donors — 15 percent of the entire take, right? So it’s all the billionaires, that’s who wants that because they want a president they can control,” he said, explaining that they know they cannot control former President Donald Trump because he does not need their money.

“He’s not gonna listen to them if it’s not what’s right for the American people. And I think that’s evidenced by everything we’ve seen for the last few months and again, so you can create a lot of an image online … you get them trying to copy Trump’s interpersonal reaction, you realize there’s almost no personality there,” he said of DeSantis.

You “can’t fake that once that guy is out on the stage,” he added. “And I think you’ve seen them. That’s why you see the nosedive in the polls.”

WATCH the full interview below:

Jack Knudsen / Breitbart News