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“A special person who has done an incredible job.”These were the first words Donald Trump ever expressed in public about Ron DeSantis. The statement dates back to 2018, when, the then-president officially endorsed him in the Florida gubernatorial race. A little more than four years later, things are very different, and presidential ambitions made the relationship between the two more tense than usual.
The relationship between the two was very good. DeSantis accompanied President Trump’s agenda and even participated in rallies for the 2020 elections. However, since the tycoon left the White House, the popularity of the current governor in Florida and beyond has not stopped rising.
This is why many political analysts, both Democrats and Republicans, see the former congressman as a potential presidential candidate, which could materialize in 2024. In case he needed to build momentum, DeSantis won reelection by almost 20% in Florida, including winning the Latino vote, in what used to be the “purple” state par excellence.
“We reject woke ideology. We fight the woke in the legislature. We fight the woke in the schools. We fight the woke in the corporations. We will never, ever surrender to the woke mob. Florida is where woke goes to die,” the governor exclaimed in his victory speech.
Start of Donald Trump’s cold war against “Ron DeSanctimonious”
It is well known that the former president enjoys nicknaming his rivals. “Lying Ted”, “Crooked Hillary”, “Pocahontas”, “Crazy Bernie”, “Mini Mike” and “Low Energy Jeb” were some of the nicknames with which Trump baptized his opponents.
However, no one expected that, just three days before the midterm elections, Trump would refer to the Florida governor as “Ron DeSanctimonious”. Despite having endorsed him days before for re-election, once the polls closed, the attacks continued. Despite DeSantis denying any presidential aspiration so far, Trump sees him as a potential challenger.
At the end of the election, Trump did not stay in the mold and used his Truth Social account to continue attacking DeSantis. “Ron DeSanctimonious is playing games! The Fake News asks him if he’s going to run if President Trump runs, and he says, ‘I’m only focused on the Governor’s race, I’m not looking into the future.’ Well, in terms of loyalty and class, that’s really not the right answer,” tweeted the former president, who added that DeSantis is an “average governor.”
Ron DeSantis was slow to respond but lowered tensions
Last Tuesday, November 15, DeSantis gave a press conference and, of course, he was asked about Trump’s criticism.
“I don’t think any governor got attacked more, particularly by corporate media, than me over my four-year term. And yet, I think what you learn is, all that’s just noise. And really what matters is, are you leading? Are you getting in front of issues? Are you delivering results for people? And are you standing up for folks? And if you do that, then, none of that stuff matters,” the governor responded.
“One of the things that I’ve learned in this job, when you’re leading, when you are getting things done, yeah, you take incoming fire. That’s just the nature of it,” he added.
Donald Trump has already set the course for 2024, but it remains to be seen what DeSantis’ intentions are.
Joaquín Núñez es licenciado en comunicación periodística por la Universidad Católica Argentina. Se especializa en el escenario internacional y en la política nacional norteamericana. Confeso hincha de Racing Club de Avellaneda. Contacto: [email protected] // Joaquín Núñez has a degree in journalistic communication from the Universidad Católica Argentina. He specializes in the international scene and national American politics. Confessed fan of Racing Club of Avellaneda. Contact: [email protected]