Donald Trump Attacks 'Awkward' Ron DeSantis With Edited Handshake Video

Donald Trump has shared an edited video attacking his main 2024 rival Ron DeSantis which falsely suggests the Florida governor wiped his nose before shaking hands with a supporter in Iowa.

In a post on Truth Social, the former president shared a clip of the governor at a reception held by the pro-DeSantis super Pac, Never Back Down, in Des Moines, Iowa.

As well as continuing to spar off against each other with verbal attacks, both Trump and DeSantis have used memes and online videos to insult each other during their 2024 campaigns.

The video, which was originally posted by the Trump-supporting Twitter account @miguelifornia, shows DeSantis clinking bottles of beers with his supporters before wiping his nose and shaking hands with another.

However, the clip has been edited, with the original clip tweeted by CNN's Kit Maher on July 28 showing that DeSantis brushed his nose after he shook hands. Newsweek contacted DeSantis' and Trump's offices for comment via email on Monday.

The post from Trump, who captioned the video with the word "AWKWARD!" came as the former president continues to attack the man seen as his biggest challenger in the 2024 GOP nomination race. On Sunday, DeSantis suggested that the "juvenile" insults may actually put off voters and help him. He is currently trailing Trump by a large margin in primary polls.

In May, Trump mocked DeSantis' error-strewn Twitter Space announcement confirming his White House bid by sharing a video of the governor taking part in an AI-created Twitter Space with Adolf Hitler, the Devil and George Soros on social media.

The video ends with a computer-generated version of Trump's voice declaring: "And Ron DeSanctimonious, you can kiss my big beautiful 2024 presidential a**. Trump 2024 baby, let's go."

DeSantis' campaign team and supporters have also reverted to using memes to attack the former president in an attempt to appeal to voters online.

In June, the DeSantis War Room Twitter account posted a video attacking Trump for past comments he made in support of the LGBTQ+ community and promoted DeSantis' legislations such as the so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill, which critics accused of being homophobic.

More recently, a DeSantis campaign staffer, Nate Hochman, was "let go" after he allegedly retweeted a video that ended with the Florida governor's face superimposed over a sonnenrad, an ancient circular symbol that was co-opted by the Nazis and is still used today by white supremacist groups.

Hochman was also accused of having produced the video and posting it via the Ron DeSantis Fancams Twitter account to make it appear as if the clip had been made independently before tweeting it through his own profile, according to news outlet Axios.

When asked about the wave of attacks directed at him by the former president in New Hampshire on Sunday, DeSantis insisted that he could end up benefiting from them in 2024.

"First of all, I mean, I think a lot of this stuff when he hits me with it, with juvenile insults, I think that helps me," DeSantis told reporters. "I don't think voters like that. I think they look at it and they realize, you know what, that's not effective. And so I don't think it's effective.

"So I actually don't mind that at all," DeSantis added. "I think it's just a reminder, why there's so many millions of voters who will never vote for him going forward."

According to FiveThirtyEight's national poll tracker, Trump currently leads the 2024 GOP primary with 52.4 percent, with DeSantis a distant second on 15.5 percent.