Trump brands 2024 'rival' DeSantis as 'very disloyal' trends now
Donald Trump has branded Ron DeSantis 'very disloyal' for reportedly considering a run for the White House.
As Trump kicked off his 2024 bid with stops in New Hampshire and South Carolina, he once again took credit for helping DeSantis in his bid for Florida governor in 2018.
'Ron would have not been governor if it wasn't for me,' Trump told reporters aboard his plane on Saturday. 'So then when I hear he might run, I consider that very disloyal.'
The former president also slammed DeSantis for closing Florida for a 'long period of time' during the COVID-19 pandemic when other Republican states did not, claiming the governor and his team are 'trying to rewrite history.'
Trump's stops in the early-voting states this weekend marked the first campaign appearances since announcing his latest run more than two months ago.
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As former President Donald kicked off his 2024 White House bid on Saturday, he took a jab at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, calling the potential presidential run by his rival 'very disloyal'
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The former president also slammed DeSantis for closing Florida for a 'long period of time' during the COVID-19 pandemic when other Republican states did not
After his South Carolina speech, Trump said it would be 'a great act of disloyalty' if DeSantis opposed him in the primary and took credit for the governor's initial election.
'If he runs, that's fine. I'm way up in the polls,' Trump said. 'He's going to have to do what he wants to do, but he may run.
'I do think it would be a great act of disloyalty because, you know, I got him in. He had no chance. His political life was over.'
Trump initially endorsed DeSantis in the governor's 2018 primary campaign, but said on Saturday that he hasn't spoken to him in a long time.
He has since called DeSantis an 'average governor' and 'Ron DeSanctimonious.' On Saturday, Trump slammed the Florida governor's COVID response.
'There are Republican governors that did not close their states,' Trump told reporters. 'Florida was closed for a long period of time. They're trying to rewrite history,' he added.
'I had governors that decided not to close a thing and that was up to them,' he said, defending his choice to leave it up to the governors of each state.
Trump also criticized DeSantis' shifting posture on vaccines, saying the Florida governor had 'changed his tune a lot.'
While Trump remains the only declared 2024
