Campaign Video of DeSantis Pandering to Trump Resurfaces as Feud Escalates

A campaign video of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis touting his support for then-President Donald Trump back in 2018 has resurfaced online on Sunday, as tensions rise between the two Republicans.

The campaign ad video, which was posted on Twitter by PatriotTakes, was released at a time when DeSantis was a congressman running for his first term as Florida's governor.

"Never forget that Ron DeSantis made an ad with his baby in a MAGA onesie and called himself a 'pitbull Trump defender,'" PatriotTakes, a group researching and monitoring right-wing extremism, tweeted.

The ad begins with the GOP governor's wife Cassey DeSantis saying, "Everyone knows my husband Ron DeSantis is endorsed by President Trump, but he's also an amazing dad. Ron loves playing with the kids."

DeSantis is seen in the video teaching his then-toddler daughter how to "build the wall" with toy blocks, a reference to the U.S.-Mexico border wall that Trump wanted to construct to prevent undocumented immigration.

The Republican is then seen reading Trump's book The Art of the Deal to his son Mason, who was wearing a pro-Trump onesie later in the clip. DeSantis also encourages his daughter to speak the words, "Make America Great Again."

DeSantis went on to narrowly win the 2018 gubernatorial election in Florida by a margin of just 0.4 percent against his Democratic opponent Andrew Gillum. He received 49.6 percent of the vote while Gillum won 49.2 percent.

This year, in the November 8 midterm last week, DeSantis won reelection in Florida by nearly 20 points against his Democratic rival Charlie Crist as Republicans performed really well in the southern state. Many analysts have long predicted that the Florida governor could become the GOP nominee for the 2024 presidential election, especially if Trump decides not to run.

Trump's popularity among members of his own party is currently waning, especially after his midterm failures in which his endorsed candidates lost in some states, leaving Democrats to officially maintain and possibly narrowly expand their control of the Senate. As a result, a number of Republicans now view DeSantis as a better alternative as they look ahead to 2024.

Trump, who is reportedly expected to announce a 2024 presidential bid on Tuesday despite backlash from the GOP, accused DeSantis on Thursday of lacking "loyalty and class."

In a lengthy Truth Social post, which argued that the midterms were a "success," Trump referred to DeSantis as "Ron DeSanctimonious" and denounced him for "playing games" by hedging on announcing his own intentions for 2024.

Trump said that the media was "all in for Governor Ron DeSanctimonious," and added that the Florida governor had "overall numbers" that are "just average." He also gave himself credit for endorsing DeSantis in the 2018 gubernatorial race, saying that DeSantis "came to me in desperate shape in 2017—he was politically dead ... low approval, bad polls, and no money, but he said that if I would Endorse him, he could win."

Trump, who denounced the Florida governor for refusing to say whether he'll run in 2024, continued saying that he saved DeSantis after the 2018 election by preventing the election from being "stolen" due to a "corrupt" voting process in Florida's Broward County.

Newsweek reached out to DeSantis' media office.