Former President Donald Trump Slams Ron DeSantis for Presidential Bid, Says ‘He Should Have Waited'
Former President Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, are in the headlines again as Trump criticizes DeSantis for having the audacity to run for president in 2024.
Trump didn't hold back when he told the audience in Windham, New Hampshire that DeSantis had acted prematurely by running for the coveted GOP presidential nomination in 2024. Trump said in his signature style, “What he did wrong is he should have waited until ’28." He added, “But I don’t know if that would have held water because eventually, they would have figured out — you know, you do need some personality if you’re going to be a politician.”
Trump's apparent part in DeSantis's political rise is what's causing him to feel such a strong feeling of betrayal. The former president asserted that he was crucial to DeSantis's victory in the 2018 governor's race. DeSantis' use of his last year's straightforward reelection to launch a presidential campaign which strikes Trump as a betrayal of his commitment. “That’s why I’ve been particularly hard on him, and fortunately it’s worked because he’s crashing,” Trump said, per HuffPost.
It has become evident that DeSantis's campaign is facing a fair share of challenges. A campaign in transition is suggested by the recent reorganization of the campaign's leadership and staff and the fundraising challenges that followed. The governor's uphill battle for the GOP nomination is obvious given that polls generally have Trump in a significant advantage over DeSantis by a margin of more than 36 points, according to FiveThirtyEight.
The upcoming GOP primary debate looks to be a turning point in the current situation because it could be the first time that Trump and DeSantis square off in an important debate. Trump has threatened to miss the debate as a deliberate plan to steer the conversation and keep his competitors out of the spotlight. DeSantis has decided to appoint a qualified debate coach Brett O’Donnell, to help him, per ABC News.
Amazing. He's even claiming to be responsible for DeSantis being a weird fascist loser. It's alllll gotta be about Trump.
— TW (@tswilliams252) August 9, 2023
Trump and his campaign have regularly criticized Florida Governor DeSantis over the past few months, focusing on both policy issues and personal traits. DeSantis has continued to hold onto his place as the second-most favored contender in the majority of GOP primary polls during this time. Trump cited several recent primary surveys in his remarks, emphasizing his advantage over DeSantis and the other candidates. According to a New York Times/Siena College poll, Trump had 54 percent of the vote while DeSantis had 17 percent.
DeSantis is working to re-energize his campaign in response to the increasing pressure. One key action was changing the leadership of his campaign and taking a more direct stance in his criticism of Trump, per The Hill.
References:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-ron-desantis-gop_n_64d370ace4b05c10fd6d72cc
https://www.c-span.org/video/?529766-1/president-trump-speaks-windham-hampshire
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-r/2024/national/
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/31/us/politics/2024-poll-nyt-siena-trump-republicans.html
https://twitter.com/tswilliams252/status/1689277607672487937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
