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'What an embarrassment': Internet slams Donald Trump as he calls Ron DeSantis a 'wounded falling bird' at Florida GOP summit

During his speech at the Freedom Summit, Donald Trump mocked Ron DeSantis and claimed that the Florida Governor was disloyal to him

KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA: Former President Donald Trump mocked Florida Gov Ron DeSantis at the Republican party's Florida Freedom Summit on Saturday, November 4, calling him "a wounded falling bird."

DeSantis and Trump were joined by other candidates at the GOP summit at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee, near Orlando. Also in attendance were former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, Senator Tim Scott from South Carolina, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.

All the candidates officially filed to compete from the state for the 2024 primary and addressed the enthusiastic crowd dressed in red, white, and blue. However, Trump's presence seemed to overshadow the GOP proceedings. 

Moreover, the former POTUS' speech had multiple references to DeSantis, showing their growing rivalry.

Donald Trump believes Ron DeSantis is disloyal to him

During his speech at the Florida Freedom Summit, Donald Trump claimed he made Ron DeSantis popular by launching him in the 2018 campaign for head of the state.

"I endorsed him, and he became a rocket ship in 24 hours. Now he's like a wounded falling bird from the sky," said Trump. 

According to Trump, DeSantis's decision to run against him in the 2024 presidential race shows his disloyalty.

Trump went on taunting the Florida Governor, standing underneath the graphics that read "Florida is Trump Country."

"We're going to win the Florida primary for the third straight time, and we're going to win the state by a landslide next November," stated the former president to a cheering crowd.

Initially, the Florida Governor was seen as a strong opponent against Trump among the presidential hopefuls of the Republican party.

However, based on New York Post reports, recent surveys indicate that the Sunshine State's head is trailing behind the former POTUS by 27 points and is tied up with former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley for the second position.

DeSantis refrained from directly mentioning Trump's name while addressing the crowd and only made subtle jabs at him, referring to his unimpressive results in the GOP's recent elections.

Internet is annoyed with Donald Trump's 'name-calling' speeches

While the crowd at the Florida GOP Summit might have cheered for Donald Trump, netizens weren't happy with the former POTUS' way of attacking his opponents. 

One user stated, "Great speech. Again, no plans or solutions. Just name calling and telling people how important he (thinks he) is. Disgusting. Embarrassed I voted for him previously."

Another said, "What an embarrassment Trump is. He's going to lose us a huge number of races if he's in the general election."

"Trump has nothing to run on. He didnt complete 2016 promises and made many things worse. He has handed many elections to the left since then too," stated a person. 

A user noted, "the election because word was stating that DeSantis might run for POTUS. DeSantis went on to win re-election by almost 20 pts.! Trump endorsement is very overrated, especially by Trump himself!" 

"Just read something and it's "Trump doesn't give speeches. He tells long fake stories that provide an alternate reality in which he's the hero and allow his audience to conflate themselves with him as he pretends to vanquish imaginary enemies like "Sleepy Joe" "Crooked Hillary"," added one more. 

Someone else mentioned, "This is funny, but I still think Ron is one hell of a governor. And deep down, Trump knows it too. I'm pretty sure they'll make up in 2024." 

"I'd like to see him tell that story from the debate stage. Easy to make up crap when the other person isn't there to call you out," opined one user.