Ron DeSantis says even George Washington would have ‘no shot’ as a Republican after midterm losses
WASHINGTON, DC: Florida Gov Ron DeSantis didn’t hold back after the Republican Party suffered heavy losses in the 2026 midterms. In his view, the GOP’s situation looked so bleak that even George Washington wouldn’t stand a chance if he ran as a Republican today.
“If last night was a presidential election, you could bring George Washington back from the dead, put an R next to his name, and he’d lose,” DeSantis said in an interview. “He’d have no shot.”
But DeSantis didn’t stop there. He urged the party to rethink its entire approach ahead of 2028, arguing that its usual tactic of branding Democrats as socialists no longer resonated with voters.
According to him, Republicans needed to make real changes if they wanted to win again instead of relying on recycled attacks.
Ron DeSantis warns GOP faces uphill battle in 2028
DeSantis said he did not want to sound pessimistic but believed Republicans needed to confront the scale of their electoral problems rather than dismiss the results.
““I hate to be pessimistic... [but] we need a shift in the underlying dynamics before Republicans could really even talk about being viable in 2028."
RON DESANTIS: "If last night was a presidential election, you could bring back George Washington from the dead, and you put an R by his name? He would have LOST that election... He would have had no chance." “I hate to be pessimistic... [but] we need a shift in the underlying dynamics before Republicans could really even talk about being viable in 2028." "I know it’s probably going to be hard for people to hear that, but I’m kind of beyond the gaslighting and trying to say Democrats can never win and we’re just so much better — they’re socialists." "They played that card throughout this midterm, and it didn’t work.” According to NBC News, Democrats are on track for 258 House seats, their largest majority in nearly two decades, while also flipping at least six Senate seats. DeSantis also recently warned that Republicans may not have a real shot at controlling the Senate until 2032, calling the midterms “close to an extinction-level event” for the GOP. This was a beating, and it’s going to take a long time to recover.
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) November 5, 2026
"I know it’s probably going to be hard for people to hear that, but I’m kind of beyond the gaslighting and trying to say Democrats can never win and we’re just so much better, they’re socialists."
"They played that card throughout this midterm, and it didn’t work.”
The Florida governor also criticized Republicans for relying on familiar attacks against Democrats instead of addressing the reasons voters had turned against the party.
DeSantis also recently warned that Republicans might not have a realistic chance of controlling the Senate until 2032, calling the midterms “close to an extinction-level event” for the GOP.
Ron DeSantis slams Republicans over stalled conservative agenda
In a separate interview, DeSantis directed criticism at Republican lawmakers in Congress, arguing that they had failed to use their political power to advance conservative priorities.
Ron DeSantis said he saw no indication that Republican senators were interested in pursuing conservative changes. He questioned why they had not taken steps to address immigration or shut off H-1B visas.
He also asked why they had not codified Trump's immigration executive orders or stripped federal courts of jurisdiction over deportation cases, arguing that Republicans had several opportunities to act.
🚨 HOLY SMOKES. Gov. Ron DeSantis just BLEW UP and went on an America first RAMPAGE on national TV "I saw NO INDICATION that Republican senators were interested in doing conservative change! WHY haven't we done immigration, SHUT OFF H1B visas?! WHY haven't we CODIFIED Trump's immigration executive orders?! Why haven't we STRIPPED jurisdiction from the federal courts over deportation cases?! There's SO MANY THINGS we COULD HAVE DONE." "THEY DIDN'T EVEN ATTEMPT IT." "They say, 'oh, if only we needed 50 votes we would've done it!' YOU DON'T HAVE 50 VOTES. You NEVER SHOWED you'd do conservative things, even with 50 votes! [RE: filibuster]...I NEVER saw an indication that they'd do it." "This midterm was a rebuke of the president and Congress...BUT, a LOT of our voters stayed home because they were FRUSTRATED with the LACK of productivity from Republicans in the House and Senate." A fire was just lit under this man. Honestly have not seen him get that fired up in a LONG time We definitely deserved better from our Senate. Now, we need to repair and win in 2028, or Democrats are destroying America!
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 5, 2026
"They didn't even attempt it."
"They say, 'oh, if only we needed 50 votes we would've done it!' You don't have 50 votes. You never showed you'd do conservative things, even with 50 votes! [RE: filibuster]...I never saw an indication that they'd do it."
"This midterm was a rebuke of the president and Congress...But, a lot of our voters stayed home because they were frustrated with the lack of productivity from Republicans in the House and Senate."
DeSantis pushed back against claims that Republicans lacked the votes, saying the real issue was that lawmakers had never shown they were willing to take action, even when they had the opportunity.
He said the election results reflected voters’ frustration not only with Donald Trump but also with Congress.
According to DeSantis, some Republican voters stayed home because they were tired of seeing the party fail to deliver on its promises.
