Former President Donald Trump (R) launched another attack against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) before polls closed on Tuesday evening, threatening to release what he claims is damaging information on DeSantis should the governor run for president in 2024.
The Wall Street Journal and Fox News noted Trump’s remarks in reports published Tuesday afternoon. Trump made the remarks while flying back to Florida Monday evening after hosting a rally in Ohio.
Trump claimed that there was no “tiff” with DeSantis after he mocked the governor over the weekend, calling him “Ron DeSanctimonious” and using old poll numbers showing that he had a lead on DeSantis in a 2024 presidential primary.
“I don’t know if he is running. I think if he runs, he could hurt himself very badly,” Trump said. “I really believe he could hurt himself badly. I think he would be making a mistake, I think the base would not like it — I don’t think it would be good for the party.”
“If he runs, he runs,” Trump continued. “I would tell you things about him that won’t be very flattering — I know more about him than anybody — other than, perhaps, his wife.”
The attacks from Trump on DeSantis come after one of Trump’s lawyers, Alina Habba, also took shots at the governor this week, saying that he “needs to stay in Florida” and that “DeSantis is DeSantis because of Trump.” She also claimed that DeSantis was not polished enough to be president, saying, “He’s not ready yet.”
However, when he was asked by reporters on Tuesday if he voted for DeSantis for governor, Trump responded, “Yes, I did.”
