Texas Governor Gets No Love at CPAC
Amid Adams Branding as Un-American

Capitol Inside
August 8, 2022

Governor Greg Abbott received the results of a dramatic remake on the far right at the Conservative Political Action during the weekend in Dallas where he scored a goose egg in a straw poll on the GOP presidential sweepstakes in 2024 after having a controversial migrant busing plan derided on the stage by Donald Trump's candidate for the top job in Arizona.

Abbott's visions of a White House run may have suffered their biggest blow at CPAC behind the scenes - however - when one of Trump's biggest Texas donors predicted that the ex-president would defer to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the battle for the job that conservatives think Democratic President Joe Biden stole from them in 2020.

Dallas investor Doug Deason told the London-based tabloid the Daily Mail that he did not believe Trump would run again because he'd be happier in his current role as a "power broker" than he'd be with a return to the throne. Speaking in an interview his office near the CPAC event at the Hilton Anatole, Deason said he could see DeSantis as the heir apparent to Trump in the Republican nomination chase two years from now.

'He's the kingmaker and why would he want to go back and get the crap beat out of him all the time, and have all the responsibility and not be building his empire?" Deason said in regard to Trump's future. 'He's had to go back and help rebuild it and you know, why let it deteriorate? Why would it fall apart again? Because he's just gonna get attacked just like he was. And he can be the kingmaker without being the king."

Deason - the son of commercial real estate magnate Darwin Deason - is good friends with Donald Trump Jr. as a potential source of information on the former president's plans. The Deason family contributed at least $2.5 million to a pair of Trump super PACs for his campaigns in 2016 and 2020.

But Deason had supported both of the Texans in the field in 2016 - former Governor Rick Perry and U.S. Senate Ted Cruz - before shifting to Trump after he'd locked the nomination down. But Deason didn't mention the current Texas governor as a possible name on the next national ticket despite speculation throughout the past year on a possible Abbott bid in 2024. Deason sounded like he was all in on DeSantis or expected to be eventually in the interview with the Daily Mail - the United Kingdom's most prominent right-wing newspaper.

Abbott headed to Dallas with hopes for a momentum boost from a panel that served on Thursday as a warm up act for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The governor touted his directive that has Texas sending migrants on buses to New York City and Washington D.C. - seizing on a rhetorical brawl with NYC Mayor Eric Adams as red meat for his audience at the Hilton Anatole. Abbott took shots at California Gavin Newsom as well - portraying the West Coast Democrat as someone with a case of sour grapes on an exodus of people from his state to Texas.

But Newsom fared dramatically better than the Texas governor in the same straw CPAC poll in Dallas where 37 percent of the conference participants predicted that the California governor would be the Democratic nominee in 2024. Michelle Obama finished second with 16 percent while Biden and Hillary Clinton both had 8 percent of the activists' forecast.

Abbott in the meantime found himself locked in a five-way tie for last place in the CPAC survey on the Republican race for president two years from now. The Texas governor was tied with 0 percent with tied with U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, U.S. Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Trump led DeSantis 69 percent to 24 percent in the CPAC poll that had U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas in a distant third at 2 percent. Abbott finished behind Other at 1 percent and Undecided at 0.4 percent. Abbott fared better when Trump wasn't an option - finishing in a tie four others at 1 percent. DeSantis reaped support from 65 percent of the CPAC activists in a field without the former president. Donald Trump Jr. and Cruz were second and third with 8 percent and 6 percent respectively.

Abbott joined former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and a trio of lawmakers in U.S. Senators in Josh Hawley of Missouri, Tim Scott of South Carolina and Cotton in eighth place. Former Vice-President Mike Pence wasn't as strong with a mere 0.3 percent support at CPAC.

With a war of words with Adams as his most recent claim to fame, the Texas governor had the rug pulled from under it when Arizona Republican Kari Lake called the busing scheme a "cute photo-op" that would take the problems that border states face with illegal immigration to the entire country.

Adams unleashed a blistering critique of Abbott's antics on Sunday when he greeted a busload of migrants from Texas and promised to take care of them like the governor refuses to do. "It's just a mean and cruel thing he's doing," Adams told reporters on Sunday. The NYC issued a challenge to Abbott.

"Be a true American, man!" Adams said. "I don't think anything is more un-American than shipping people on buses for a 45-hour trip without any basic needs."

Adams took aim at Abbott's patriotism while expressing his outrage over the Texas governor's behavior.

"When you think about this country, a country that has always been open to those who are fleeing persecution and other intolerable conditions, we've always welcomed that," Adams said. "This governor is not doing that in Texas, but we are going to send the right message, the right tone, of being here for these families."

more to come ...