Ron DeSantis dismissed criticism from Donald Trump, claiming the “verdict has been reached” that his leadership, particularly his response to Covid-19, is popular with the people who voted for his re-election.
The Florida governor said during a higher education news briefing on Tuesday that the second he “rolls out of bed,” he’s receiving attacks from “all sides.”
Trump reiterated his new nickname for DeSantis — “DeSanctimonious” — in posts from Truth Social on Monday, after saying on Saturday it would be disloyal if the GOP governor made a bid for the White House in 2024.
The former president claimed the DeSantis team was trying to rewrite history of the coronavirus response and slammed him for keeping Florida’s shutdown longer than other states.
“I’m rolling out of bed, I’ve got people attacking from all angles,” DeSantis said in response to recent lines of attack from Trump — whose 2024 campaign is gaining more support. “It’s been happening for many, many years.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dismissed recent criticism from Donald Trump calling him “disloyal” and used the new nickname “DeSanctimonious”.
Donald Trump is stepping up attacks on DeSantis as he seems increasingly nervous that the popular Republican leader will launch his own presidential campaign. Pictured: Trump speaks from South Carolina for the first day of high-profile campaigning heading into 2024
“However, if you look at the good about it, it’s like taking a crisis situation like COVID. The good thing is, when you’re an elected leader, you have to make whatever decisions you have to steer this ship,” DeSantis said.
“And the good thing is that the people can make a judgment on whether or not to re-elect you,” he added.
“So I would say that judgment was made by the people of the state of Florida,” DeSantis concluded, noting his massive re-election victory in the 2022 midterm election.
DeSantis reaped the wrath of Trump after his increasingly popular Florida politics led to national notoriety and whispered he could seek a White House bid.
The former president berated Florida’s governor as “Ron DeSanctimonious” on Sunday night, marking the end of a weekend that saw Trump squared off against his potential Republican rival of 2024.
DeSantis didn’t earn his spot at the governor’s mansion until 2018, after Trump got into the neck-and-neck race. The confirmation sent DeSantis jumping double digits in the polls.
On Saturday, Trump branded DeSantis “very disloyal” for reportedly considering running for the White House.
“Ron wouldn’t have become governor if it wasn’t for me,” Trump told reporters aboard his plane Saturday en route to South Carolina for a campaign event.
“Well, if I hear that he could run, I think that’s very disloyal,” lamented the ex-president.
Trump kicked off his 2024 bid Saturday with stops in the early primary states of New Hampshire and South Carolina.
When former President Donald launched his 2024 White House bid on Saturday, he stabbed DeSantis by claiming it would be “very disloyal” if he launched a primary White House bid against him. Trump spoke to a reporter on board his plane while campaigning in New Hampshire and South Carolina on Saturday
He also slammed DeSantis for shutting down Florida for a “long time” during the COVID-19 pandemic when other Republican states weren’t, claiming the governor and his team are “trying to rewrite history.” .
In two posts on his Truth Social app, Trump twice used the nickname “DeSanctimonious” when he accused DeSantis of being a “globalist” and of “closing Florida and its beaches” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
His return to using the nickname is a sign that the ex-president is poised for an all-out political war against his budding rival. DeSantis hasn’t officially announced a White House bid, but his refusal to rule out one in this upcoming election cycle has infuriated Trump.
Trump first came out with his “Ron DeSanctimonious” line during a rally in Pennsylvania just three days before the midterm elections – and was promptly criticized by leading Republicans for attacking the governor on the eve of his reelection bid.
He initially backed down and even encouraged people to vote for DeSantis the next day before steadily ramping up his attacks again.
In the first of two posts Sunday night, Trump rarely praised the media for covering 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 publicly warned DeSantis that it would be “disloyal” for him to run in 2024.
He wrote hours later on Truth Social, “The revelations that Ron DeSanctimonious was doing MUCH WORSE than many other Republican governors, including the fact that he closed Florida and its beaches without apologies, was interesting indeed.
Trump added, referring to himself in the third person: “DJT leads BIG!!!”
In the second post, just after midnight Monday, Trump went on a bizarre tangent against conservative group Club For Growth — and somehow DeSantis got caught up in the mix.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ refusal to rule out a White House bid has infuriated the former president, who became the first Republican to toss his 2024 hat in the ring
The influential organization has been at odds with Trump since the 2022 midseason, when it clashed with him in two high-profile Republican Senate primaries in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
It also undercut its Nov. 15 presidential announcement by releasing an early 2024 poll the day before showing Trump losing to DeSantis.
“The Club For No Growth is a GLOBALIST group that I’ve been taking to cleanse for years. We worked together for a while but they couldn’t leave China, Europe, Asia and parts unknown,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in the early hours of Monday morning.
“You know I’m not going to play that game, I’m America First all the time. That’s the only way we’ll make America great again.
“Ron DeSanctimonious, who I made governor in BOTH elementary school and general, is also a globalist, and so are his donors.”
He also sought to link DeSantis to Jeb Bush, the former Republican governor of Florida whom Trump comfortably 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 on Saturday with stops in the early primary states of New Hampshire and South Carolina.
“If I hear that [DeSantis] could [run] I think it’s very disloyal,” he told CNN and Politico on his plane.
In his first of two Truth Social posts where he shared his “Ron DeSanctimonious” line, Trump accused the Florida governor of shutting down his state during the pandemic
In the second post, Trump also targeted the conservative group Club For Growth
He also once again paid tribute to DeSantis’ narrow win in 2018 — which later led to a landslide re-election in 2022.
“Without me, Ron would not have become governor,” Trump said.
DeSantis has so far been reluctant to face Trump publicly, a strategy that has seemed to be paying off for him so far.
He has seen his GOP star rise throughout the Biden administration with his vocal opposition to Joe Biden’s progressive policies.
He’s also made a name for himself with Trump’s MAGA base, throwing himself into the culture wars with LGBTQ-specific laws and adopting critical race theory in schools.
But through it all, DeSantis has repeatedly insisted his focus is on Florida when asked about his 2024 ambitions. It has done little to quell enthusiasm, particularly among fellow Republicans.
“Obviously, DeSantis and Trump are the two candidates, right whether he’s declared or not,” New Hampshire GOP Gov. Chris Sununu said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.