Dunks

Top Trump adviser dunks on Jeff Roe after departure from pro-DeSantis super PAC

Donald Trump declared the departure “GAME OVER” for Ron DeSantis.

By KELLY GARRITY

Just over an hour after the news broke late Saturday, former President Donald Trump took to social media to deliver the message to his 6.5 million followers.

“Jeff Roe is out – GAME OVER for DeSanctimonious,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Roe, a top strategist for the main super PAC supporting Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign, had just announced his resignation — the latest high-level member to depart the organization.

Roe’s departure from the PAC, Never Back Down, came within hours of a Washington Post account of the turmoil that rocked the organization in recent weeks. The group fired three of its top officials two weeks ago, including the super PAC’s chief executive officer. The board chair, former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, also left, as did the organization’s president, Chris Jankowski.

One top Trump adviser, Chris LaCivita, seemed particularly pleased with Roe’s fall: “tick tock…times up,” LaCivita posted on X, formerly Twitter, in the moments after the news broke.

In another post, he urged the GOP campaign vet to “stay the hell away from the US Senate” because “we need to win a few seats next year,” a dig at Roe’s mixed track record of success in Republican campaigns.

Roe, the founder of Axiom Strategies, has guided countless campaigns — scooping up serious cash along the way. He notched a big win in 2021 in Virginia, helping propel now-Gov. Glenn Youngkin (then a political unknown) to victory.

But his resume is also peppered with tough losses — some of which have still earned him and his firm large sums of money. That was something LaCivita was quick to point out via meme: “seems appropriate …” the top Trump campaign adviser wrote above a photo of Roe’s face pasted on to an old McDonald’s mascot, the Hamburglar.

The Roe/Hamburglar appears to be running coins from buildings representing failed Senate campaigns that Roe worked on into another building labeled “DeSantis Super PAC.”

Months ago, Trump was considering hiring Roe to run his 2024 campaign, the Washington Post reported. But LaCivita and longtime Trump aide Jason Miller shot down the idea, according to the Post, arguing that Roe would be irresponsible with the campaign’s cash. Trump ended up hiring LaCivita instead.