Kari Lake appears to fire veiled shot at Ron DeSantis after Trump brands him ... trends now
Failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake fired a veiled shot at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis late on Saturday night after Donald Trump branded the Republican leader 'disloyal' for reportedly considering a presidential bid.
Styling herself as 'Trump in a dress,' Lake was among the most-watched MAGA candidates in the 2022 midterm election cycle.
And much like her icon, she has to this day refused to concede her narrow electoral loss to Arizona's new Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs.
But despite the defeat, Lake has stayed close to Trumpworld and remained a fixture in the ex-president's orbit.
Lake put that loyalty on full display Saturday night with a cryptic post on Trump's Truth Social platform.
'I pity the fool who runs against President Trump,' Lake wrote.
Kari Lake was among the most high-profile Trump-endorsed candidates of the 2022 election cycle
She fired off a cryptic warning, potentially aimed at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, after Trump branded him 'disloyal'
'He is EXACTLY what America needs right now.'
While DeSantis has not formally declared his 2024 intentions, his refusal to rule out a White House bid has infuriated the former president.
The Sunshine State governor has made his own name for himself with Trump's MAGA base by wading into the culture wars with LGBTQ-targeted legislation and taking on Critical Race Theory in schools, as well as his opposition to the Biden administration.
As Trump kicked off his 2024 bid with stops in New Hampshire and South Carolina on Saturday, he once again took credit for helping DeSantis narrowly win the Tallahassee executive mansion in 2018 - and fired yet another warning shot at his presumptive ambitions.
'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
