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Former President Donald Trump's attacks on Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have escalated, with Trump accusing his potential 2024 presidential rival of lacking "loyalty and class."
Trump, who is facing GOP backlash in the aftermath of the party's largely underwhelming performance in the midterm elections, is expected to announce a third run for the presidency in a "very big announcement" at Mar-a-Lago next week. In a lengthy Truth Social post that insisted the midterms were a "success" on Thursday, the former president referred to DeSantis as "Ron DeSanctimonious" and denounced him for "playing games" by hedging on announcing his own intentions for 2024.
Trump accused the media of being "all in for Governor Ron DeSanctimonious," saying DeSantis had "overall numbers" that are "just average." He blasted the Florida governor for enacting COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 before saying that his endorsement was the key factor in DeSantis being initially elected in 2018.
"Ron came to me in desperate shape in 2017—he was politically dead, losing in a landslide to a very good Agriculture Commissioner, Adam Putnam, who was loaded up with cash and great poll numbers," Trump wrote. "Ron had low approval, bad polls, and no money, but he said that if I would Endorse him, he could win. I didn't know Adam so I said, 'Let's give it a shot, Ron.'"
"When I Endorsed him, it was as though, to use a bad term, a nuclear weapon went off," he continued. "I then got Ron by the 'Star' of the Democrat Party, Andrew Gillum (who was later revealed to be a 'Crack Head'), by having two massive Rallies with tens of thousands of people at each one... I also fixed his campaign, which had completely fallen apart."
Trump went on to say that he saved DeSantis after the 2018 election by stopping the election from being "stolen" due to a "corrupt" voting process in Florida's Broward County.
Despite having been "all in for Ron" in the past, Trump denounced the governor for refusing to say whether he will run for president in 2024. He also accused the media of having an anti-"MAGA" agenda and participating in "collusion" with DeSantis, comparing the situation to his victory over early 2016 GOP favorite "Low Energy Jeb Bush."
"Ron DeSanctimonious is playing games!" Trump wrote. "The Fake News asks him if he's going to run if President Trump runs, and he says, "I'm only focused on the Governor's race, I'm not looking into the future." Well, in terms of loyalty and class, that's really not the right answer... This is just like 2015 and 2016... They will keep coming after us, MAGA, but ultimately, we will win."
Following a rally in Ohio on Monday, Trump reportedly threatened to release information about DeSantis "that won't be very flattering" if he challenges him in 2024. He first referred to the governor as "Ron DeSanctimonious" at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Despite the clear tensions, Trump, a Florida resident, told reporters that he voted for DeSantis in Tuesday's election and urged Republicans to follow suit during his final rallies before the midterms.
Newsweek has reached out to the office of DeSantis for comment.
About the writer
Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more