Donald Trump flew in on his iconic – and recently refurbished – Trump Force One to Latrobe, Pennsylvania to stump one final time for various candidates. It seemed that he also used the pre-midterm rally to boost his own profile.
The Daily Wire set up the barb:
Former President Donald Trump (R) took a shot at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) during a campaign event Saturday night in Pennsylvania, just days before election for Florida’s governorship.
Trump made the attack while campaigning in Pennsylvania and he used a questionable poll that was conducted months ago, just shortly after the FBI’s criminal investigation into the former president’s handling of government records was made public following the Bureau’s raid on Mar-a-Lago.
Trump, using those August figures for about whom voters prefer in 2024, remarked that he was still running away with a huge majority of support. However, he did so in a way that has been widely seen as an unnecessary attack on Florida’s outstanding governor Ron “DeSanctimonious.”
Take a look as Trump badmouths his top political rival ahead of a crucial midterm election in which every Republican vote matters:
Or… Ron De…SaidNoToFauci… that’s another angle… #StandUpForAmerica https://t.co/VOznfgHNOm
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) November 6, 2022
"*" indicates required fields
Trump at 71…Ron DeSanctimonous at 10 percent..Mike Pence at 7 – oh, Mike’s doing better than I thought.
As Chip Roy, one of the few congressional Republicans worth a darn, shared in his tweet that Trump’s unprovoked line of commentary could also be viewed differently:
Or… Ron De…SaidNoToFauci… that’s another angle…
As noticed in the audio clip, the crowd generally doesn’t seem to react much to the statement. Perhaps they were caught off guard and didn’t have time to process the statement. Perhaps they didn’t care for it. Perhaps they were simply stunned by the bizarre anti-DeSantis attack just days before the people of Florida head to the polls.
DeSantis is an extremely effective conservative governor who has had real policy wins and real cultural wins. Trump isn’t going to be able to take this one down with a dumb nickname. He better have more than that up his sleeve. https://t.co/dOpugSGEBP
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) November 6, 2022
DeSantis is an extremely effective conservative governor who has had real policy wins and real cultural wins. Trump isn’t going to be able to take this one down with a dumb nickname. He better have more than that up his sleeve.
“There was no good reason for Trump to attack DeSantis last night,” said Tim Runs His Mouth.
“What an idiot. DeSantis is a far more effective leader of the Right than Trump was, if, that is, you expect a leader to get a lot done, rather than just talking about it and owning the libs,” said Rod Dreher.
“Trump missed the mark with the quip about DeSantis tonight. It’s four days before the Midterm; the Governor is facing re-election and is a MAGA ally. No need for friendly fire. Keep the guns targeted on the Left,” said Election Wizard.
Again, the crowd didn’t react to it with cheers, and nearly all of Twitter’s conservative voices spoke out against it. Those responses ranged from confused to outraged. Aside from it not moving the needle in terms of GOP support, it provides plenty of fodder for political opposition, which will no doubt capitalize on the moniker while also celebrating the in-fighting.
Making this situation more bizarre is that Trump will be speaking in Miami, Florida tonight in support of Marco Rubio – without the Florida governor. Reports are that DeSantis was not even invited.
It remains to be seen how Trump will be received in DeSantis’s home state this evening. No doubt, this clip will have been seen by many of those plugged into politics – especially those willing to attend a political rally.
In addition to Trump’s efforts to create distance between himself and his chief 20204 rival, Fox News also noted that there is more to the story. Fox reported:
Trump publicly voiced displeasure with DeSantis last month after the Florida Republican endorsed Colorado Republican Senate Candidate Joe O’Dea despite O’Dea’s vocal criticism of Trump.
“A BIG MISTAKE!” Trump posted on Truth Social in response to the move.