Longtime Donald Trump advisor Roger Stone is dumping on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as an Ivy League 'fat boy' – in the latest sign of split between DeSantis and Trump.
Stone, who has known Trump for decades and advised him informally during the 2016 campaign – then got a presidential pardon following a long legal saga amid the Russia probe – tore into DeSantis following a report the former president considers the potential rival 'dull.'
'Trump sometimes President Donald Trump hits it right on the nose. Ron DeSantis Yale Harvard fat boy can’t get out of his own way,' he wrote.
'Not smart. Not honest and not going to be president,' Stone wrote on social media.
Longtime Donald Trump advisor Roger Stone attacked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and linked to a report on a Trump-DeSantis rift with the potential 2024 rival
He called DeSantis, 43: 'An unknown congressman with a bad haircut and an ill-fitting suit until Donald Trump made him governor' – leaving out his latest job title: governor of the state, with a population of more than 20 million, where both Stone and Trump reside.
He also wrote, without explanation: 'I know where he was when he was missing,' in reference to a period when DeSantis was absent from public events, fueling online speculation about his whereabouts. DeSantis' office says he was helping his wife, Casey, with her cancer treatments.
Stone tweeted an expletive about DeSantis and linked to an Axios story about the alleged Trump-DeSantis rift.
The attack came days after Trump addressed a rally in Arizona and stoked conspiracy theories about Jan. 6th – as he positions for a potential run to reclaim the White House in 2024.
DeSantis attended Yale undergrad and earned his law degree from Harvard. Trump himself famously and touted his own link to the Ivy League, saying repeatedly attended the Wharton School of Finance, which is part of the University of Pennsylvania.
Stone called DeSantis 'not smart' and a 'Yale Harvard fat boy'
DeSantis is a prominent Republican who has refused to say he would yield to Trump if he decides to run.
Trump is said to have branded DeSantis a 'dull' charisma free-zone as rumors swirl the former president is angry the popular Florida governor hasn't said that he won't challenge Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
Sources close to the former president who have recently talked to him about DeSantis said Trump has grown increasingly irked by DeSantis in recent months, with Trump beginning to voice his frustrations to those in his inner circle.
'In the context of the 2024 election, he usually gives DeSantis a pop in the nose in the middle of that type of conversation,' said a source who recently spoke to Trump about DeSantis.
'He says DeSantis has no personal charisma and has a dull personality,' the source told Axios.
Trump and DeSantis are pictured at a Florida rally in November 2019. The former president is now said to be bashing the popular Florida governor behind his back, with speculation mounting that the two men could face-off for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination
The two are among the most popular Republican figures in the country, and with Trump eyeing another presidential run in 2024, many political pundits believe he is irritated by DeSantis' interest in running against him and his growing popularity.
Trump is said to be further annoyed that DeSantis hasn't come out to say he wouldn't run against the former president if he did opt to launch another White House bid.
Trump hasn't actually announced his own bid, and isn't expected to do so until early next year.
Those close to the former president say they expect him to launch a second White House run - but also admit Trump may choose to act as a 'kingmaker' for the next presidential candidate instead.
The source, who was not named or identified, said they have heard Trump
