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Former president Donald Trump lashed out against Florida governor Ron DeSantis and called him “disloyal” as the governor weighs whether to run for the 2024 Republican nomination against his former political benefactor or not, Eric Garcia reported for The Independent.
Photo Insert: Trump and DeSantis at a White House meeting during friendlier times
Trump spoke to Politico and CNN on his plane as he campaigned in New Hampshire and South Carolina, two states that have the first primary contests in the country.
“Ron would have not been governor if it wasn’t for me,” he told reporters. “When I hear that he might [run], I think it’s very disloyal.”
Trump also savaged DeSantis for his record during the COVID pandemic. He received plaudits from Republicans across the country for reopening Florida earlier than most other states, even though he did close the state briefly.
“There are Republican governors that did not close their states,” Trump said. “They’re trying to rewrite history.”
The defeated US president criticized DeSantis for his shifting position on vaccines. Last month, DeSantis announced a petition with the state’s Supreme Court (SC) to “impanel a statewide grand jury to investigate any and all wrongdoing in Florida with respect to COVID-19 vaccines.”
He also opposed vaccine mandates. But Trump said DeSantis “changed his tune a lot” on vaccinations.
The Florida governor and Trump have a fraught history. Trump endorsed DeSantis in the 2018 gubernatorial primary thanks in part to an ad showing DeSantis building a faux US-Mexico border wall with one of his children. Trump highlighted that on his plane when speaking to reporters.
Trump has taken not-so-subtle shots at Mr. DeSantis, calling him “Ron DeSanctimonious” before the November midterm elections. But that did not stop the governor from winning re-election by double digits.
Like Trump, DeSantis has focused heavily on culture war fights on everything from teaching about race in school to LGBT+ rights. Mr. DeSantis has called Florida the place “where woke goes to die.”
