Did Donald Trump just cost Ron DeSantis the Florida governorship? Reps slam 'DeSanctimonious friendly fire'
LATROBE, PENNSYLVANIA: Former US president Donald Trump took a jibe at Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis at a rally on Saturday, November 5, 2022, signaling a heated rivalry between the two popular Republicans, just days before the election for Florida’s governorship.
Trump called out DeSantis, who is branded as the greatest threat to the former president, while addressing a crowd in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. "We’re winning big in the Republican Party for the nomination like nobody’s ever seen before, there it is, Trump at 71 percent, Ron DeSanctimonious at 10 percent," Trump said while citing a questionable poll that was conducted months ago, according to a report by The Daily Wire.
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"Mike Pence at seven, oh, Mike is doing better than I thought," Trump continued. "Liz Cheney there’s no way she’s at 4%. There’s no way. There’s no way. But we’re at 71 to 10 to 7 to 4." Trump took a dig at DeSantis in his speech, then moved on to recalling his poll numbers in the latest indication he may be close to announcing his presidential candidacy. “We’re winning big, big, big in the Republican party for the nomination like nobody’s ever seen before,” he added.
However, conservative social media users did not react well to Trump name-calling DeSantis and his remarks weren’t acceptable in the political circle. Calling out Trump for mocking DeSantis, a user said, “DeSantis is an extremely effective conservative governor who has had real policy wins and real cultural wins. Trump isn’t going to be able to take this one down with a dumb nickname. He better have more than that up his sleeve.”
Another user wrote, “Trump missed the mark with the quip about DeSantis tonight. It's four days before the Midterm; the Governor is facing re-election and is a MAGA ally. No need for a friendly fire. Keep the guns targeted on the Left.”
DeSantis is an extremely effective conservative governor who has had real policy wins and real cultural wins. Trump isn’t going to be able to take this one down with a dumb nickname. He better have more than that up his sleeve. https://t.co/dOpugSGEBP
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) November 6, 2022
1) There’d be no DeSantis without Trump.
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) November 6, 2022
2) Trump was marvelous president pre-Covid.
3) DeSantis arguably best GOP governor ever.
4) Trump surrendered his presidency to Covid.
5) 2020 election was a fraud.
6) DeSantis helped save country from Covid.
This has been my Ted Talk.
“I’m a big DeSantis fan. I don’t think Trump’s criticism of him right now is a good political strategy. But if DeSantis is going to challenge Trump in a primary, this is what he’s up against. And neither one, honestly, has a solid Covid-era record to run on. That’s a fact,” another user tweeted.
Another one wrote, “Instead of being happy that Trump just attacked Ron DeSantis at a rally, calling him “Ron DeSanctimonious” you should be angry that Trump is above the law and free to hold rallies.”
Not tired of winning. @GovRonDeSantis you’ve proven conservative policies work. Florida is better for it. Vote for @GovRonDeSantis
— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) November 6, 2022
The blow from Trump came just days before DeSantis's re-election in Florida. In sharp contrast to this, Trump had in July told The Wall Street Journal that he would support DeSantis’ bid for reelection. It is speculated that DeSantis' re-election will build up his national profile and will make him a threat to Trump’s presidential run.
Neither Trump nor DeSantis has announced plans to run for president in 2024, though both are rumored to be potential candidates. However, a report by Axios suggested that Trump’s team is considering launching his presidential bid on November 14, 2022, less than a week after voters head to the polls in the midterm elections.
Trump routinely out-performs DeSantis in polls of Republican voters ahead of 2024, but the governor remains Trump's most prominent potential rival. On several occasions, Trump has shared videos and articles on Truth Social that state that DeSantis would get destroyed if he ran against the former president.
The rift between the two camps began sparking a long time ago. But DeSantis dismissed all such reports and claimed that "Trump is his friend." "He wants to see Republicans doing well," DeSantis told Fox News, adding, "And I think when media is trying to act like he's upset at me for doing well, I think that's total bunk. I think they're just making it up."
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