The potential Republican political rivalry between former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — both popular leaders of the conservative MAGA movement — has been encouraged by the mainstream media over the past year.
Did Trump take the bait and fire the first shot over the weekend?
DeSantis has endorsed and recorded robocalls on behalf of Colorado Republican senatorial candidate Joe O’Dea, who Trump disavowed last week after O’Dea promised to “actively campaign against” the 45th president.
“MAGA doesn’t Vote for stupid people with big mouths,” Trump said about the Colorado GOP candidate, who is trailing his Democratic rival, Sen. Michael Bennet, by over 10 points in recent polls.
Despite this, DeSantis recorded a robocall on behalf of O’Dea’s candidacy that dialed voters in the Centennial State over the weekend.
“America needs strong leadership and desperately,” DeSantis said in his endorsement. “That’s why I’m endorsing Joe O’Dea for U.S. Senate. I’ve watched Joe from a distance, and I’m impressed.”
“A BIG MISTAKE!” Trump fired back on his social media network after DeSantis’ endorsement.
It’s the first indirect clash between the 2024 Republican presidential primary front-runners since they were drawn into a hypothetical match-up by political observers.
Of course, there is no guarantee DeSantis runs against Trump — or that Trump himself is even able to run. Before the 2024 primaries start, Trump has to navigate a series of serious legal obstacles.
Supporters of the 45th president have criticized these challenges as politically motivated, but they remain a serious threat to Trump’s political future.
In the latest development Monday, Trump’s company goes on trial in a tax case. The first task facing the court is a big one: Picking a jury of New Yorkers who aren’t biased against the former president.
Manhattan prosecutors say the Trump Organization helped top executives avoid income taxes on job perks.
Trump himself isn’t on trial and isn’t expected to testify. But the judge and lawyers in the case will likely be looking to keep people off the jury if they have unshakably strong feelings about the Republican, who isn’t beloved in his former hometown.
In the 2020 presidential election, 87% of Manhattan voters supported Democrat Joe Biden for president. Trump got 12% of the vote.
Trump has decried the probe as a “political witch hunt.” The company’s lawyers have said it played by the rules.
The Trump Organization could be fined more than $1 million.
The jury selection process could take several days, especially if people in the pool express reservations about their ability to be neutral.
However, getting a panel with an open mind could be critical to avoiding a mistrial.
In the spring, another trial in a nearby federal courthouse ended in a mistrial because of tensions between jurors about political views. That case involved associates of former Trump adviser Steve Bannon who were accused of defrauding a charity founded to help pay for a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.
Eleven jurors in that case sent a note to the judge asking another juror to be removed because that person had accused all the others of being liberals.
The judge declined and the jury ultimately couldn’t agree on a verdict.
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article