(PartiallyPolitics.com) – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (Republican) started to attack former President Trump only a week after he officially launched his presidential campaign. This has widely been perceived as the entry into a more active phase of the 2024 presidential primary race.
On Tuesday night, while talking with reporters in Iowa following his campaign kickoff rally, DeSantis called out Trump in one of his sharpest attacks to date after claiming that the former President was moving “to the left.” This was in response to Trump’s criticisms of the Florida governor’s response to the pandemic.
DeSantis specifically told reporters that Trump used to tout “how great” the state was and even moved his entire family to Florida while DeSantis was governor of the state. He added that if someone makes statements like that, then he would counterattack those statements, but that in general, his focus would be on attacking President Biden, which is also where Trump’s attention should be. DeSantis also noted that Trump had given Biden a “free pass” so far.
There have been many hints that the feud between DeSantis and Trump had been growing, especially since DeSantis won the 2022 midterm elections in Florida and proceeded to question whether Trump had ever managed a sweep like that. As DeSantis pointed out, Trump attacked him three days after the midterm election and has continued attacking him since then.
These statements to the press are a rare view into the governor’s strategy for handling Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.
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