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Some of former President Donald Trump's senior advisers are "terrified" of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his highly anticipated 2024 presidential bid, according to ex-Trump attorney Jenna Ellis.
"The fact that Governor DeSantis, who is not a presidential candidate, has been the central focus of every smearing attack ad by the former president and his team is evidence that they fear him," Ellis told Newsweek on Thursday. "A team that claims to be winning by 'a lot,' but has to lie and smear the most popular Republican governor in the country, is not a confident team."
Ellis said that "Trump's worst 'advisers'" were "terrified" of DeSantis because their livelihoods depend on Trump's success. She suggested that if Trump was unable to secure the GOP nomination, those on his team would be "chronically unemployable losers."
Newsweek reached out to the Trump campaign via email for comment.
Trump supporters and DeSantis supporters have been at odds since the former president announced his 2024 campaign and began attacking DeSantis amid speculation that the governor was planning to run against him in the Republican primaries. DeSantis still has yet to put his name in the ring but is widely expected to launch his own bid in the coming weeks.
In a Twitter thread responding to Trump-affiliated strategist Alex Bruesewitz, Ellis pointed out ties that Trump's inner circle have to moderate Republicans and some Democrats. Ellis, who was a legal adviser for Trump's 2020 campaign and was on the team that sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election through the courts, said while she holds "nothing against these Trump operatives," she wanted to point out the hypocrisy that "Trump and his people are the ones who say [former Florida Governor Jeb] Bush and Swamp ties disqualify you from the Republican Party."
Among those Trump advisers were Senator Lindsey Graham, who is the co-chair of Trump's campaign in South Carolina, Trump strategist Susie Wiles, Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita and New Hampshire State Director Trevor Naglieri. She pointed out that Graham endorsed Bush in 2016 and that the other three advisers have worked with the Bush family in the past.
She also called out the event company that organizes Trump's rallies for previously working with Disney, as well as Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney and late Arizona Senator John McCain, both of whom are seen as figures of the Republican establishment.
This is not the first feud between Ellis and Bruesewitz. Last month, Ellis served him with a cease-and-desist letter after he posted a meme comparing her to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump was arrested on April 24 and pleaded not guilty to 34 charges related to the alleged payment of hush money to Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
She expressed concerns that the "blatant sexism & vulgarity that 'MAGA influencers'" have used against her are beyond the criticism she has faced in the past.
"My question is whether the Trump family wants these vile people associated with them or condones sexual harassment? Women who previously represented Trump and are now pro-DeSantis, like Erin Perrine, should be able to do their jobs and have their political opinions without malicious threats of violence online," she previously told Newsweek in a statement.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek senior reporter based in New York City. She has covered U.S. politics and culture extensively. ... Read more