Steve Cortes, a former Trump advisor who later became a spokesman for the pro-DeSantis Superpac Never Back Down, wrote an op-ed saying it’s time to unify behind President Trump.
“It is time to unify behind former President Trump as he leads the battle against the ruling class and the oligarchs intent on destroying the American way of life. I implore all patriotic populists to join as I pledge to do all I can to work for Trump’s cause, just as I proudly did in 2016 and 2020,” Cortes wrote on RealClearPolitics.
“With the America First movement acting fully in concert, we will win a historic electoral victory that leads to a full restoration of American greatness,” he added.
“It’s time to unite and coalesce behind Donald John Trump. Failure in November would result in an America that’s unrecognizable. The path to restoration will be led by President Trump,” Cortes wrote on X.
It’s time to unite and coalesce behind Donald John Trump.
Failure in November would result in an America that’s unrecognizable.
The path to restoration will be led by President Trump.
My new article:https://t.co/adpHKq6RmA pic.twitter.com/vN5ZmJULn9
— Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) January 17, 2024
Investigative journalist Laura Loomer had two words for Cortes.
“My first F*** YOU of the morning is going out to DeSantis PAC Spokesperson Steve Cortes,” Loomer wrote.
“Steve made money, fame and fortune by going on War Room with Steve Bannon where he pretended to be a Trump supporter,” she continued.
“Then, when things got hard for Trump and he was under attack, Steve Cortes abandoned Trump and became the Spokesperson for Ron DeSantis’s SUPER PAC @NvrBackDown24. He endorsed Ron DeSantis for President on May 9, which was 2 weeks before Ron DeSantis filed to run for President. That is proof that there was illegal coordination between Ron DeSantis’s campaign and the Super Pac, which means Steve Cortes is dirty,” she added.
Loomer continued:
Ron was actively planning on running for President while he was running for re-election as Governor and Steve was well aware of that because for over a year, arrangements were being made to transfer funds from Ron’s state PAC to a Presidential PAC, which was named Never Back Down.
Steve made A LOT OF MONEY working with Never Back Down and betraying Trump.
In July 2023, he even acknowledged that DeSantis’s campaign was “way behind Trump”, but he stayed on board and enabled DeSantis so he could make more money. Meanwhile, it’s now January 17th, which means @CortesSteve had 6 months to tell people to support Trump and not support DeSantis, but he didn’t because he wanted to soak up every last penny of that DeSantis PAC money at Trump’s expense.
Steve Cortes is a grifter, and sources tell me he’s been blowing up the phones of people who work for Trump, begging for another chance and trying to get a job with Trump.
If Steve knew DeSantis was behind Trump in July , how come he didn’t call for everyone to unite behind Trump 6 months ago????
Because it was all about getting rich. DeSantis and his PAC have wasted over $300 MILLION, which was used to pay PAC and campaign staff, and Steve knows that’s money that should have been used to support Trump.
But because Steve is a disloyal sleaze ball, he took the money and never supported Trump.
Now that the Iowa Caucus is over and everyone realizes how much the media has been lying about how much “people like @RonDeSantis”, every grifter and their mother is coming back groveling.
F*** you, Steve.
You aren’t getting anywhere near President Trump ever again and I am going to make sure everyone knows how much of a liar you are.
You should have been publishing your article the day @RonDeSantis filed to run, but instead, you took his money and attacked Trump.
We will never forgive you for it. And no, we won’t thank you for your disingenuous article.
Please, do Trump a favor by GOING AWAY, and please stay away from him and his family.
I’m going to make a personal complaint to @TeamTrump if I ever see you trying to show your face at another Trump event or Mar a Lago. I will make it my personal mission to make a public complaint and fuss about this act of disloyalty if you think that we are going to forget about what you did to Donald Trump.
You don’t get to come back. You can give Trump your money and your vote, but you don’t get any more access.
You can’t get back on the Trump Train, but you can push it from behind.
You made your bed. Now go sleep in it.
My first FUCK YOU of the morning is going out to DeSantis PAC Spokesperson Steve Cortes. @CortesSteve
Steve made money, fame and fortune by going on War Room with Steve Bannon where he pretended to be a Trump supporter.
Then, when things got hard for Trump and he was under… https://t.co/tGNqVR7wG8 pic.twitter.com/Y9pv40M44i
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) January 17, 2024
Cortes wrote at RealClearPolitics:
I believed that Republican voters were ready for a new post-Trump chapter of the America First movement. I now believe I was wrong.
Those of us who backed Ron DeSantis – or the other Republican candidates – should read the room. Former President Trump winnowed the field effortlessly and then crushed the remaining three candidates in Iowa. He leads in the polls everywhere else. It is time to coalesce and unite behind the clear preference of the GOP grassroots, Donald John Trump.
We do not have the luxury of further internal strife and instead must gird for an epic battle this autumn against our opponents who are inflicting daily damage upon America. Any further time, capital, and effort spent attacking the frontrunner, especially with Democratic Party-like talking points, only dilutes the power of our cause as we head toward November.
Why do these patriotic voters rally so overwhelmingly to Trump?
Clearly, they admire the resilience of this outsider who is so reviled by the ruling class that has nothing but contempt for everyday Americans. Voters still see in Trump a fighter and champion for the forgotten and ill-used citizens of the United States.
Americans also rally to his side as he faces an onslaught of corrupt persecutions from politicized, dirty prosecutors and undemocratic efforts to remove his name from state ballots.
We confront a perilous moment in U.S. history. Our country suffers from sky-high violent crime, the ravages of an effectively open border, a subversive educational system, and the anxiety of an economy that punishes workers – all brought about, deliberately, by Joe Biden and his allies.
At such a flashpoint in history like this one, political unity among conservatives is an imperative. A second Biden term would risk the permanent loss of our republic as we know it. Moreover, the very plausible scenario of Vice President Kamala Harris taking over for a weakened Biden makes the already troubling outcomes even more bleak.
Cortes stepped down from his spokesman position for Never Back Down in October 2023.
BREAKING: Spokesman Steve Cortes has left Ron DeSantis's 'Never Back Down PAC'.
Read more: https://t.co/wGPVituUmv
— Raheem. (@RaheemKassam) October 10, 2023
From The Hill:
Former Trump adviser Steve Cortes has stepped down from his position at the super PAC supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) presidential bid Never Back Down, according to a statement from the group.
“Steve launched his own show and left his role as a spokesman for Never Back Down,” said Erin Perrine, communications director for Never Back Down. “He will continue to support Governor DeSantis in his personal capacity.”
Cortes’s exit from the pro-DeSantis group comes as former President Trump continues to dominate Republican presidential primaries roughly three months out from the Iowa Caucuses. DeSantis has yet to gain traction in most primary polling. The Real Clear Politics average shows the former president at 57.4 support, while DeSantis comes in at 12.6 percent.
Cortes endorsed DeSantis in May before the governor formally announced his presidential bid. He previously served as a senior adviser to former President Trump’s 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns and was a frequent pro-Trump voice on cable news.
“Governor Ron DeSantis represents the best possible option to win the presidency in 2024 and to govern as a highly capable, patriotic populist leader,” Cortes wrote in a Newsweek op-ed announcing his endorsement earlier this year.