Trump’s DeSantis Jabs Are One-Way Attacks

Topline

“DeSanctimonious,” “disloyal” and an “average” governor are just some of the labels former President Donald Trump has used to attack Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) over the past few weeks, but the governor has shied away from taking more than subtle jabs at the former president, even as expectations grow of a historic clash between the two Republican titans in the 2024 GOP primaries.

Holding his fire: Then Florida Governor-elect Ron DeSantis sits next to then President Donald Trump … [+] during a meeting at the White House on December 13, 2018.

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Key Facts

DeSantis—who has not yet declared whether he will run for president—was asked point-blank Thursday how he feels about the media attention Trump has received since announcing a 2024 presidential run, but DeSantis refrained from attacking Trump by name in a roughly three-minute response, saying instead that there should have been a “red wave” in the midterms, but that Republicans had significantly underperformed.

The governor has repeatedly refused to utter Trump’s name when asked to respond to the ex-president’s sharp criticism, telling reporters hours before Trump announced his presidential run on November 15 to “check out the scoreboard” from the midterms—referring to his 19-point landslide victory in Florida while numerous Trump-backed candidates struggled in other contests.

DeSantis’ other approach when asked about Trump’s barbs is to dismiss the issue entirely—he’s called talks of a rift between the two “noise,” and on November 16, he said people “just need to chill out” about hyping up a possible 2024 rivalry between the two.

Trump thus far is the only major Republican candidate to announce a 2024 presidential campaign, though DeSantis is widely expected to also toss his hat in the ring.

Trump has toned down his attacks on DeSantis a bit since announcing his presidential run, after scores of Republicans suggested his comments about DeSantis were out of line.

Pushback started after Trump nicknamed DeSantis “DeSanctimonious” and touted his lead over DeSantis in 2024 primary polls at a November 5 rally, but he initially doubled down, issuing a threat on November 10 to reveal information about DeSantis “that won’t be very flattering” if the governor runs for president, and saying in a November 10 statement that DeSantis lacks “loyalty and class” by not ruling out a presidential run.

Crucial Quote

“No Republican governor has gotten a higher percentage of the vote in Florida history than we got in 2022,” DeSantis said Thursday, urging Republicans nationally to look to Florida for a winning formula.

Key Background

Trump and DeSantis have long been close political allies, dating back to when Trump endorsed the then congressman DeSantis for governor in 2017, which appeared to propel DeSantis to victory in a competitive Republican primary contest. Trump has repeatedly referred to his endorsement as the moment DeSantis’ political stardom was born, claiming he was “politically dead” before that point and as a result owes him loyalty. But many Republican donors are reportedly ready to move on from Trump in 2024, seeing the 76-year-old as a divisive and politically damaged figure incapable of winning again in a general election. DeSantis, a 44-year-old who graduated from Yale and Harvard Law School before serving in the U.S. Navy, is widely seen among GOP brass as a future party leader. GOP observers were especially encouraged by DeSantis’ strong performance among suburban voters, Hispanics and women—considered crucial demographics for Republicans to win over.

What To Watch For

Trump still holds a polling lead of about 21.5 percentage points over DeSantis heading into a possible 2024 matchup, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling average, but the gap has narrowed significantly. Several polls earlier this year had Trump leading the Republican field by more than 40 points.

Tangent

Former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Representative Liz Cheney (Wyo.) are also among the Republicans mulling 2024 presidential bids, but polls show them far behind both Trump and DeSantis. Trump holds 48.8% support, followed by DeSantis at 27.3%, according to RealClearPolitics. Pence is next with just 7% support.