Donald Trump has branded Ron DeSantis “a wounded falling bird” as he attacked his Republican rival in his own backyard.
Speaking to the GOP faithful at the Florida Republican Party’s Freedom Summit in Kissimmee, Trump recounted how he changed his position from someone who had previously supported the Florida governor.
Under a sign reading “Florida is Trump Country,” Trump recounted, about half an hour into his speech, how DeSantis came to him in 2018 and begged for his support.
“He went from very little to much – and I voted for him,” Trump cheered.
“I supported him and he became a rocket within 24 hours.” Then we got him over the election because we did some huge Trump rallies for him. I told him that you are so far behind that you couldn’t win if George Washington and Abraham Lincoln came back from the dead and supported you.
Former President Donald Trump mocked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during the annual Republican summit in Florida, calling him “a wounded bird falling from the sky.”
Under a sign reading “Florida is Trump Country,” Trump recounted, about half an hour into his speech, how DeSantis came to him in 2018 and begged for his support
“Tears flowed from his eyes. And I said, sure. “I need your support, sir! I need your support please! I need your damn support please!’
“Four years later he was asked, ‘Are you going to run against the president?'”
“He said, ‘I have no comment!’, meaning he will run away to me.”
“I said, ‘Let’s hit him hard now.’ My people said, ‘Sir, don’t hit him,’” Trump told DeSantis’ audience.
“He’s a Republican. I said, ‘I don’t care if he’s a Republican.’ And we hit him hard and now he’s like a wounded bird falling from the sky,” Trump said to laughter from the audience.
“We will win the Florida primary for the third time in a row, and next November we will win the state in a landslide,” Trump told the boisterous crowd Saturday night.
Florida’s Republican presidential candidate, Governor Ron DeSantis, also spoke to the participants
DeSantis was originally expected to be Trump’s biggest rival after he won re-election as governor by a wide margin last November – but DeSantis has struggled since his campaign began in May and is now a distant second
It was a show of strength for Trump in a state where DeSantis has controlled state politics since Trump’s endorsement in 2018 and was on track to victory in the first of two gubernatorial elections.
Now, two months before the first vote in the 2024 presidential nomination process, there is an increasingly personal and raw rivalry between the two men.
The second-term governor faces the reality that Trump has dominated national Republican politics since he launched his first bid for the White House in 2015, when DeSantis was a little-known Florida congressman.
DeSantis, Trump and other candidates signed qualification papers for Florida’s March 2024 primary election on Saturday.
The primary could prove decisive, but only if the governor or other candidates can weaken Trump’s strength in previously nominated states.
With Trump’s support in 2018, pictured above, DeSantis was on track to win the first of two gubernatorial elections
Trump’s presence was significant, and he didn’t hold back in his criticism of DeSantis, declaring, “I don’t care if he’s a Republican; we hit him hard.’
Trump has called DeSantis disloyal for months for running against him
Former President Donald Trump (center) is surrounded by supporters on stage at the Florida Republican Party Freedom Summit in Kissimmee, Florida
Florida Republican presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis waves to attendees while carrying his son Mason after speaking at the Republican Party of Florida’s Freedom Summit
“Weakening DeSantis’ standing in Florida is a clear goal of the Trump campaign,” said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist who worked on Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign.
“His entire message is based on the idea that he is a great governor.” “If Republican officials in Florida favor Trump over DeSantis, that really weakens the core of DeSantis’ point.”
Next week, DeSantis will attend the third Republican debate alongside several candidates in Miami.
Trump will miss out again and hold a rival event in the nearby suburb of Hialeah.
Next week, DeSantis will attend the third Republican debate alongside several candidates in Miami. Trump will be out again and will hold a rival event
Trump has called DeSantis disloyal for months for running against him.
The Trump campaign has also mocked DeSantis’ laugh and his interactions with voters.
DeSantis has pointed to Trump’s gaffes and suggested that he no longer has the same energy as he once did.
DeSantis was originally expected to be Trump’s biggest rival after he won re-election as governor by a wide margin last November – but DeSantis has struggled since his campaign began in May and is now a distant second.
A Des Moines Register poll released last Monday showed him tied in Iowa with Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who served as U.N. ambassador under Trump.
Both were at 16 percent, 27 percentage points behind the former president.