Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., responded to former President Donald Trump’s scathing attacks on Wednesday with a fiery reply of his own.
It would appear the 2024 Republican presidential primary is heating up… whether DeSantis is ready or not.
DeSantis drew “raucous cheers” from a crowd when he returned fire on Trump’s recent attacks. The 45th president had strongly hinted this week that DeSantis had previously engaged in inappropriate behavior with underage girls.
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At a Florida event announcing his major tax relief proposal for Floridians, DeSantis hit back.
“I spend my time delivering results for the people of Florida and fighting against Joe Biden,” DeSantis told his cheering fans. “That’s how I spend my time. I don’t spend my time trying to smear other Republicans.”
Take a look —
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"I'd just say this. I spend my time delivering results for the people of Florida and fighting against Joe Biden […] I don't spend my time trying to smear other Republicans." pic.twitter.com/Ddj9Mb1MYj
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) February 8, 2023
Trump remains extremely popular among Republican Party voters, and is the clear favorite to win the Republican nomination.
But DeSantis has plenty of well-to-do backers hoping he’s ready to dethrone Trump.
David McIntosh, the president of the influential Club For Growth group, said Tuesday that the group has invited a half dozen potential Republican candidates to its donor summit in Florida next month, but Trump is not among them.
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The group has invited DeSantis — Trump’s most formidable likely challenger — along with Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador; former Vice President Mike Pence; former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina; and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
“We think it would be great for our members to hear them, see what they have to say, where they want to lead the country,” McIntosh said in an interview.
His comments came on the heels of a memo released over the weekend by the conservative advocacy group Americans For Prosperity that said the group was prepared to support someone other than Trump in the GOP primary.
Tensions between Trump and both groups are not new, but their willingness to get involved on behalf of another candidate may only encourage at least half a dozen potential rivals who are considering campaigns. Haley is expected to announce her 2024 campaign next week in South Carolina.
Both groups join several megadonors who have signaled in recent months that they’re looking elsewhere for a presidential nominee.
Trump is facing a swirl of legal problems and has been blamed for the GOP’s underwhelming performance in last year’s midterm elections. However, he remains the most dominant figure in the party and has a been a prolific fundraiser, relying on a network of small donors.
Asked for comment Tuesday, Trump’s campaign pointed to messages on his Truth Social network in which he called McIntosh’s organization the “Club For NO Growth.”
He later posted an additional message Tuesday calling the group “an assemblage of political misfits, globalists, and losers.”
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Club For Growth, an anti-tax group, opposed Trump during his 2016 campaign but became a big ally once he won the White House.
But the group has been at odds with Trump over the last year after it endorsed opposing candidates in Republican primaries, especially in the Ohio and Pennsylvania Senate races.
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The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article