Donald Trump’s energetic fanbase was particularly silenced when the former president began poking fun at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at a rally on Saturday.
Speaking to a crowd of MAGA supporters in Waco, Texas, Trump recounted how DeSantis once asked him for confirmation so he could win the Florida governorship.
The former president even taunted DeSantis for making the request — mimicking him in a pleading, crying voice.
But unlike Trump’s attacks on his other political rivals like Hillary Clinton or Ted Cruz, the crowd didn’t seem to laugh or cheer at his remarks – instead being eerily silent throughout the tirade.
It was only after Trump hastily changed the subject, noting that he was ahead of other Republicans in polls leading up to the 2024 presidential election, that the crowd began to vibrate and cheer again.
Former President Donald Trump told Saturday in Waco, Texas how Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis once asked him for confirmation
He claimed DeSantis came to him with “tears in his eyes” and that he performed for him at “massive rallies.” The two are pictured at one of the rallies in 2018
Conservative broadcaster Piers Morgan said the response was “awkward”.
While in Waco on Saturday, Trump told his supporters how DeSantis came to him with “tears in his eyes” asking for confirmation “while he was at almost nothing” in the 2018 polls.
“So he came and he really wanted, I said, ‘You can’t win, can you?
“Sir, if you support me, I will win,” Trump impersonated DeSantis in a pleading, weeping voice as the crowd remained mostly silent. ‘”Please, please, sir, support me.”‘
“He said, ‘I don’t think I can do it’ because the other guy was popular for rallies. He would become the next President of the United States,” the former president continued, before suggesting he would have supported DeSantis’ GOP rival Adam Putnam had he known him better.
“I said, ‘Let’s try Ron,'” Trump said. “I’ve held rallies for Ron, massive rallies, and they’ve been very successful,” the former president said. “So we got him the nomination. We then gave him the choice.’
“Two years later, the fake news is up there and it’s like, ‘Are you going to run?’ And he’s like, ‘I have no comment.’
‘ I say, ‘This must not happen.’
Trump also blasted DeSantis at Saturday’s rally for his Social Security and Medicare records and blasted him for reopening Florida early after Trump shut down the nation amid the COVID outbreak.
He even said DeSantis was “not good” at crime, Mediaite reports, but got virtually no reaction from the crowd when he spoke.
Conservative broadcaster Piers Morgan then called the reaction “awkward,” and tweeted, “It seems Trump supporters don’t like him beating up a hugely successful Republican governor…”
Another user wrote online, “Having him rip on DeSantis is only going to hurt him. Also, he and everyone should understand that Ron hasn’t even entered the race yet. If he does that, his numbers will skyrocket when it becomes a reality.’
While a third added: “That’s the most passive of a crowd I’ve ever seen,” while another chimed in: “Very little energy.”
Another commented, “He’s doing himself a disservice by criticizing DeSantis.”
And a fifth Trump supporter admitted: “Voted for Trump twice. His exaggerated sensitivity to legitimate DeSantis competition is a major turnoff. give me maturity; we have serious work to do to take back our country.’
Trump also blasted DeSantis at Saturday’s rally for his Social Security and Medicare records
Some DeSantis supporters and Trump “skeptics” are wondering if he should run against the former president. DeSantis is pictured in Des Moines, Iowa earlier this month
The Florida governor dismissed the attacks on him as “background noise” in a recent interview with Piers Morgan
Trump’s remarks on Saturday were only the latest as the former president seeks to go after his political rivals ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
He has previously attacked DeSantis on his Truth Social platform under the nickname “Ron DeSanctimonious”.
The Florida governor then addressed the repeated attacks in a recent interview with Piers Morgan, saying the “regular attempts to provoke him” were nothing but “background noise”.
Still, the Republican base appears to favor Trump over DeSantis, with the former president leading all polls.
For example, a March 17-19 Morning Consult poll found that Trump has a 28-point lead over DeSantis, who garnered just 26 percent of the support from the GOP.
However, in a head-to-head duel with President Biden, he did slightly better than Trump.
When asked about a hypothetical matchup between Biden and DeSantis, respondents preferred the current president by 43 percent to 41 percent.
In a hypothetical match between Biden and Trump, Biden leads 44 to 41 percent.
Now some in the GOP are wondering if DeSantis is ready to run against Trump.
At a luncheon following the annual Red Cross Ball in Palm Beach, Fla., a group of 16 prominent Republicans, whom NBC News described as a mix of DeSantis supporters and Trump skeptics, discussed concerns about the Florida governor’s political future.
“They liked him — many of them might even support him,” the unnamed source said. “But overall they thought his long-term future was brighter without him trying to take on Trump.”