Donald Trump has accused fellow Republican presidential nominee Ron DeSantis of being “very disloyal” for entering the 2024 race for the White House.
Florida governor DeSantis, 44, looks to be Trump’s main rival for the Grand Old Party (GOP) spot and although the former president is confident he’ll be ultimately chosen ahead of his younger running mate, that has not stopped him of attacking his rival once more in an ongoing bitter dispute between the two men that Trump says is now “personal”.
In an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, Trump launched into a personal tirade against DeSantis, firstly claiming the credit for him getting the Florida job in 2017, before accusing him of betrayal for his attempt to usurp Trump and become the GOP presidential candidate.
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“I got him elected,” Trump said. “And I thought it was very disloyal when he said ‘Yes, I’d run’. I got him past two races.”
“I’m a big loyalist. Some people right here in this room tell me ‘sir, don’t worry about loyalty, it doesn’t mean anything in politics’. I said, to me it does. I got the guy elected.”
Trump, who derided his rival as ‘Rob DeSanctimonious’, went further on the attack. He added: “He came to see me, let’s say weeping because he was dead. He was getting out of the race.
“He was looking for jobs already, probably at law firms or wherever he is going to look. He was totally dead. He ran a horrible campaign… it was like a wipeout.
“The election was going to be very soon. I said ‘you are dead’. If George Washington endorsed you are not going to win.”
Trump went on to endorse DeSantis on Twitter, calling him a “brilliant young leader”, a move he reckons ultimately got him across the finishing line in Florida.
“As soon as I endorsed him, he won the primary,” said Trump. “It was over. He won by a landslide.”
Now DeSantis has flung his hat into the ring for the presidency, angering Trump, who went on: “Three years later, they asked him are you going to run against the president? He said ‘I have no comment’. I said no comment? No comment means he’s going to run.
“I didn’t help him 90%, I helped him 100%. This guy was dead politically for him to then say I’m going to run against the guy that got me in office? I didn’t need that.”
Trump acknowledged that DeSantis was his main challenger, but now feels his challenge is falling by the wayside, saying: “He is the number two right now, but he could be replaced. The way he is going right now, he is dropping like a rock.
“He could be number three and number four and you won’t ever hear me talking about him again.”
