Phatbob said:

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This was posted in the R vs D thread, but I think it deserves it's own thread.
[url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/08/17/ron-filipkowski-desantis-trump-00110950][/url]
Politico

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Online, Filipkowski, a former Republican now devoted to trolling the GOP, is a different person altogether. He is a social media obsessive or savant, or both sharing an endless stream of photos, videos, political dirt and, at times, biting political commentary with the roughly 750,000 followers he has on X, sometimes blowing up a politician's comment or gaffe with attention. "The thing that I think is so unique about Ron's work is that he surfaces a lot of clips and photos that aren't things you can find by just watching cable news or YouTube streams," said Aaron Rupar (follower count: 884.7k), a liberal-leaning journalist known for quickly clipping political videos that go viral on X. "He's great at dredging things up from deeper social media sources that take a lot of work to find."

During the 2022 midterm election, he shared a video of Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz talking about preparing a crudit platter that went viral and underscored voter concerns that the wealthy TV physician was out of touch. During the same cycle, he picked up on then-Senate candidate J.D. Vance telling Steve Bannon's War Room podcast he didn't "care what happens to Ukraine one way or another," a moment that previewed the shift in how Republicans view foreign conflicts. Days later, Vance's campaign issued a statement clarifying his comments. And earlier this year, when 2024 GOP presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lashed out at a reporter during a trip to Jerusalem over a question about his time serving at Guantanamo Bay as a Navy lawyer, Filipkowski posted a clipped video of the moment that now has over 3.8 million views.

His tweets have sparked cable news segments and online battles with political operatives. Journalists have alerts turned on to catch the latest photo or obscure right-wing event he has uncovered. Even the campaigns he covers and political figures he loathes have warmed to him and even teamed up with him. Filipkowski said he is in contact with far-right activist Laura Loomer and people affiliated with Donald Trump's campaign. It's not to boost Trump (whom he has been agitating against since the 2020 campaign) but to upend their mutual enemy: DeSantis.


"I'm probably the top anti-DeSantis person on Twitter. So if [rivals] have something anti-DeSantis that they want to get into the mainstream, they'll send it to me," Filipkowski said, without disclosing the name of anyone on the Trump campaign he's worked with. The Trump campaign declined to comment.

Loomer said they speak occasionally. "He knows I'm a Trump loyalist, and I know he doesn't like Trump, and despite our differences, we have found common ground on making sure Ron DeSantis is never elected president of the United States, ever."

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Does that sound like someone interested in making sure that the Democrats are not elected no matter what, or like someone who only cares about 1 thing... Trump.

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Phatbob said:

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And naturally, you believe him

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They don't just quote him, they quote the Trump camp as well.

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Phatbob said:

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cevans_40 said:

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Phatbob said:

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And naturally, you believe him

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They don't just quote him, they quote the Trump camp as well.

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The member of Trumps camp that doesn't have a name?

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I think she has a name:

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Phatbob said:

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"He knows I'm a Trump loyalist, and I know he doesn't like Trump, and despite our differences, we have found common ground on making sure Ron DeSantis is never elected president of the United States, ever."

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Does that sound like someone interested in making sure that the Democrats are not elected no matter what, or like someone who only cares about 1 thing... Trump.

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lb3 said:

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Phatbob said:

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This is just how politics works. When I worked with various campaigns, I used Democrat operatives all the time to help help shape the narrative on primary opponents.

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Phatbob said:

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Honestly it is exactly what I expect from Trump, but it's important to point this out to all those who are blindly loyal to him for reasons that are demonstrably false. If those who support him because they say the future of our country depends on it really believe that to be true, they damn sure better be making sure the reasons they think HE is the only one are actually true.

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aggieforester05 said:

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I really wish all of this childish infighting between Team Trump and Team DeSantis would stop. Campaign for the primary based on your policy positions and then no matter the outcome everyone right of chairman Mao should galvanize around the Republican candidate to get the corrupt Democrats out of the captains chair. We can't take another four years of this crap and a divided conservative base is going to hand the election to a corrupt dementia addled puppet for the globalists.

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Trump campaign works with the left to take out rivals

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Loomer said they speak occasionally

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Phatbob said:

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This is not just "out-campaigning". This is an outright stated goal of permanent destruction. We are constantly told on this board that we should not be disparaging Trump when we point out his shortcomings, because he might be the nominee. There is 1 person in this race who is out to destroy conservatives. Again, I get sick of people pissing on my leg and telling me it's raining.

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Gigem314 said:

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It's disappointing to see that, no doubt. DeSantis is my first choice. Democrats are the real enemy here.

But I am kind of curious where some of you were in 2020 when other Republicans were working with Democrats because they shared a common enemy in Trump. I have a feeling some weren't so sensitive about it like with this.

It is part of the political game, no doubt. It can also be disappointing at the same time. I also don't think it's really something to read too much into.

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Funky Winkerbean said:

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Isn't taking down your opponent the objective during an election? Yes. You guys will believe anything to paint anyone in opposition to DeSantis in a negative light.

Oh wait…

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Phatbob said:

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This is not just "out-campaigning". This is an outright stated goal of permanent destruction. We are constantly told on this board that we should not be disparaging Trump when we point out his shortcomings, because he might be the nominee. There is 1 person in this race who is out to destroy conservatives. Again, I get sick of people pissing on my leg and telling me it's raining.

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Funky Winkerbean said:

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Wait, you actually think "taking down" means to physically assault them?

Bwaaaaahaaa…

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Phatbob said:

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This is not just "out-campaigning". This is an outright stated goal of permanent destruction. We are constantly told on this board that we should not be disparaging Trump when we point out his shortcomings, because he might be the nominee. There is 1 person in this race who is out to destroy conservatives. Again, I get sick of people pissing on my leg and telling me it's raining.

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