Trump ramps up attacks on DeSantis ahead of imminent presidential campaign
Mabinty Quarshie
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Former President Donald Trump has taken to his social media platform Truth Social to once again lambaste Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) with denigrating nicknames ahead of his imminent presidential campaign launch next week.
After months of anticipation, DeSantis is widely expected to file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission next week ahead of a meeting with GOP donors in Miami. A more formal launch is expected in the governor’s hometown, Dunedin, Florida, after Memorial Day, setting up what is likely to be a brutal showdown with the former president.
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Trump, however, made it abundantly clear on Friday that he is not phased by DeSantis challenging him for the Republican presidential nomination. “After campaigning for five months, and going nowhere but down, it looks like Ron DeSanctimonious will soon be entering the race. He has ZERO chance, and MAGA will never forget!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
DeSantis and Trump have been in an increasingly heated proxy battle as the governor prepared to run for president. Both men have traveled to early nominating states to meet with GOP primary voters who could give them the momentum to crush their opponent’s campaign next year. Their affiliated super PACs have already gone up in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada, crucial early voting states, with multimillion ad buys championing their candidate and attacking the other.
Now as DeSantis prepares to become an official candidate, Trump is seemingly ramping up his attacks against the governor.
On Friday morning, Trump shared a video knocking DeSantis for needing Trump to endorse him in his first race for governor in 2018. “Ron DeSantis was struggling big time in his primary race for governor of Florida. Polls revealed DeSantis was failing so bad. He was losing by a staggering 17 points. Then DeSantis was saved by the endorsement of President Trump,” a voice-over said during the video before a clip showed DeSantis thanking Trump for the support.
“Unfortunately, instead of being grateful, DeSantis is now attacking the very man who saved his career. Isn’t it time DeSantis remembers how he got to where he is?” the voice-over continues.
DeSantis declared he is the sole Republican candidate who can defeat President Joe Biden in 2024 to snatch back control of the White House during a phone call with GOP donors, according to the New York Times. “You have basically three people at this point that are credible in this whole thing,” DeSantis reportedly said. “Biden, Trump, and me. And I think of those three, two have a chance to get elected president — Biden and me, based on all the data in the swing states, which is not great for the former president and probably insurmountable because people aren’t going to change their view of him.”
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But DeSantis has seen his polling numbers decline after an onslaught from Trump and his allies. Trump is the undisputed GOP 2024 front-runner according to polling, leading all other challengers, including DeSantis, by double digits. A RealClearPolitics average of polls showed Trump leading the GOP field at 56% with DeSantis at 19.9%, a 36 percentage point advantage.
It remains to be seen if DeSantis will see an increase in polls once he is an official presidential candidate.