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Donald Trump lambasted Florida‘s governor as ‘Ron DeSanctimonious’ on Sunday night, punctuating the end of a weekend that saw the former president go in hard against his potential 2024 Republican rival.
In a pair of posts on his Truth Social app, Trump wheeled out the nickname twice as he accused DeSantis of being a ‘globalist’ and having ‘shut down Florida and its beaches’ during the COVID-19 pandemic.
His return to using the monicker is a sign that the ex-president is ready for all-out political warfare against his burgeoning rival. DeSantis has not formally declared a White House bid, but his refusal to rule one out in this coming election cycle has infuriated Trump.
Trump first wheeled out his ‘Ron DeSanctimonious’ line during a rally in Pennsylvania just three days before the midterm elections – and was promptly criticized by top Republicans for attacking the governor on the eve of his re-election bid.
He initially backed off, and even encouraged people to vote for DeSantis the next day, before steadily upping his attacks once again.
Former President Donald Trump is ramping up attacks against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, appearing increasingly nervous that the popular Republican leader will launch his own 2024 bid
In the first of two posts on Sunday night, Trump issued rare praise for the media over press coverage of his first two campaign events, which took place in New Hampshire and then South Carolina on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters on his campaign plane that day, Trump issued a public warning to DeSantis that it would be ‘disloyal’ for him to run in 2024.
He wrote on Truth Social hours later, ‘The revelations about Ron DeSanctimonious doing FAR WORSE than many other Republican governors, including that he unapologetically shut down Florida and its beaches, was interesting, indeed.
Trump added, referring to himself in the third person: ‘DJT leading BIG!!!’
In the second post, made just after midnight on Monday, Trump went on a bizarre tangent against conservative group Club For Growth – and somehow, DeSantis was caught up in the mix.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ refusal to rule out a White House bid thus far has infuriated the former president, who was the first Republican to throw his hat in the ring for 2024
The influential organization has been at odds with Trump since the 2022 midterm season, when it clashed with him on two high-profile Republican Senate primaries in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
It also undercut his November 15 presidential announcement by releasing an early 2024 poll the day before that showed Trump losing to DeSantis.
‘The Club For No Growth is a GLOBALIST group that I have been taking to the cleaners for years. We worked together for a period, but they couldn’t get away from China, Europe, Asia, and part’s unknown,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social in the early hours of Monday morning.
‘They know I won’t play that game, I am America First all the way. That’s the ONLY way we will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.
‘Ron DeSanctimonious, who I made Governor in BOTH the Primary & the General, is also a Globalist, & so are his donors.’
He also tried to link DeSantis to Jeb Bush, the former Republican governor of Florida who Trump soundly defeated for the GOP nomination in 2024 – despite the former’s place in one of America’s foremost political dynasties.
Trump officially kicked off his third presidential campaign with stops in the early primary states of New Hampshire and South Carolina on Saturday.
‘When I hear that [DeSantis] might [run] I think it’s very disloyal,’ he told CNN and Politico on his plane.
In his first of two Truth Social posts wheeling out his ‘Ron DeSanctimonious’ line, Trump accused the Florida governor of shutting down his state during the pandemic
In the second post, Trump also took aim at conservative group Club For Growth
He also once again took credit for DeSantis’ narrow 2018 victory – which later led to a landslide re-election in 2022.
‘Ron would have not been governor if it wasn’t for me,’ Trump said.
DeSantis has so far been unwilling to take on Trump in public, a strategy that’s appeared to pay off for him up until now.
He’s seen his GOP star rise throughout the Biden administration with his vocal opposition to Joe Biden’s progressive policies.
He’s also made his own name for himself with Trump’s MAGA base by wading into the culture wars with LGBTQ-targeted legislation and taking on Critical Race Theory in schools.
But through it all DeSantis has repeatedly insisted that his focus is on Florida, when asked about his 2024 ambitions. It’s done little to quell the buzz, especially among fellow Republicans.
‘Obviously, DeSantis and Trump are the two candidates, right, whether he’s declared or not,’ New Hampshire’s GOP Gov. Chris Sununu said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.
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