The Florida governor unloaded on his top rival at his in-person campaign debut — but only in certain settings.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis mocked Donald Trump on Tuesday, calling some of the former president’s criticism of him “ridiculous” and suggesting that his rival had “moved left” for political advantage.
“He used to say how great Florida was,” DeSantis told reporters at Eternity Church, after his first rally as a presidential candidate. “Hell, his whole family moved to Florida under my governorship!”
Moments earlier, at the first rally of his campaign, DeSantis had put a silencer on his friendly fire, opting to hone in largely on attacking Biden with Trump criticism that was mostly left implied. Republicans could lose the 2024 election, he said, if they got “distracted” from a “referendum on the failures of Joe Biden.” They needed to elect a two-term president — Trump would be limited to one — because “we could bring George Washington back and I don’t think he could fix it in one single term.” And a president should know “you do not empower somebody like [Dr. Anthony Fauci], you bring him into the office and you tell him to pack his bags.”
Facing reporters upstairs, DeSantis dropped the subtlety. Why did Trump not “remain true to America First principles” and consider giving amnesty for DREAMers? Why didn’t Trump tell him he was doing a “great job” after he signed a pile of conservative bills in Tallahassee? What was Trump thinking when he said that ex-New York Gov.
