A rivalry has quietly spiraled this month into an indirect feud between former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla.
And it could soon force Republican activists to take sides.
State Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Ariz., recently tweeted. “DeSantis needs to get on board with President Trump NOW or will be seen as a Benedict Arnold & his political career will be over.”
Meanwhile, columnist Ann Coulter said of DeSantis, “He was a loyal booster when Trump ran in 2016, but then he learned our president was a liar and con man whose grift was permanent.”
Coulter later elaborated in an email to the New York Times. She said, “Trump is done.”
Trump’s former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows directly addressed the feud during a Newsmax interview on Tuesday.
Meadows threw his support behind Trump, but he also accused the press of blowing up the would-be rivalry.
“Gov. DeSantis is doing a great job in Florida but he’s also smart enough to know that this is the party of Trump. This will continue to be,” Meadows said.
“It’s [Trump’s] party. It’s his decision on whether he runs for president or not. But I can tell you, if he does, it won’t be Ron DeSantis challenging him. It’ll be the media trying to create this conflict that obviously is not there.”
Brian Ballard, a Florida lobbyist with connections to both men, predicted that the feud would blow over and that the two politicians “will be personal and political friends for the rest of their careers.”
“They’re the two most important leaders in the Republican Party,” Ballard told Times on Tuesday.
DeSantis has downplayed the media rumors.
“You cannot fall for the bait,” he said on the Ruthless podcast last Friday. “You know what they’re trying to do, so just don’t take it. Just keep on keeping on.”
Trump, on the other hand, has not done the same. He recently accused DeSantis of insufficient loyalty.
“Look, I helped Ron DeSantis at a level that nobody’s ever seen before,” Trump said in an interview, according to the Times.
Trump himself lives in Florida. In 2018, he endorsed DeSantis over a better-known frontrunner.
DeSantis “didn’t have a chance” of winning without his help, he said.
Insiders say DeSantis has been distancing himself from Trump since December. On Fox Business, the governor dodged questions about his history with the COVID-19 vaccines… the same vaccines developed under Trump’s Operation Warp Speed.
Since leaving office, Trump has defended the vaccines as safe, effective, and one of his administration’s greatest accomplishments.
Earlier this month, Trump went on One America News to berate “gutless” politicians for refusing to reveal their vaccination status.
Trump did not mention anyone by name, but he was widely understood to have been talking about DeSantis.
The budding rivalry has only escalated from there… and it may continue all the way to the 2024 election.
In polls for 2024, DeSantis consistently stands at a distant second behind Trump. But experts say it is very early. DeSantis is expected to rise in the polls later, once voters learn more about him or if other contenders decline to run.
DeSantis has filed to run for a second term as governor this November. He has remained mum about his plans for 2024. In September, he dodged Fox’s questions about any plans for the presidency.
According to the Times, Trump has been grumbling for months about DeSantis’ silence.
“I wonder why the guy won’t say he won’t run against me,” Trump said to his advisors, who spoke to the Times anonymously.
“The magic words.”
The Horn editorial team