Former President Donald Trump bashed Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) over payments he made to the satirical news site the Babylon Bee.
In a new attack against his likely 2024 competitor, Trump went after yet another former ally: the Christian satirical news site, the Babylon Bee. In a Truth Social post, Trump took a swipe at both the outlet and DeSantis.
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"Why is Ron DeSanctimonious paying The Babylon Bee, a non-entity, $5,000 a month, so far $21,500, if he’s not running for President?" Trump wrote, using his nickname for the governor. "Just because his Poll Numbers are tanking, probably because of his desire to cut Social Security and Medicare, doesn’t allow him to campaign without an announcement! You don’t spend that much money on The Babylon Bee if you’re running for Governor, in fact, you don’t spend money on The Babylon Bee if you’re running for anything!"
However, the receipt Trump attached to his Truth Social post eliminated the dates showing when DeSantis made contributions to the site. All of the payments from DeSantis were made between August 2021 and March 2022, before the governor was considering a run for president.
An April 2022 Miami Herald investigation showed DeSantis had made payments to the site for “services related to online fundraising, according to state campaign finance records.”
“The governor’s campaign committee, as well as the associated Friends of Ron DeSantis political action committee, paid the conservative-leaning satire website The Babylon Bee a combined $15,000 last year for services related to online fundraising, according to state campaign finance records,” the outlet said.
Trump's falling out with the Babylon Bee was more recent than that with DeSantis, as he hosted the outlet's owner, Seth Dillon, to dinner at Mar-a-Lago in January.
The Babylon Bee wrote numerous articles that directly or indirectly praised Trump throughout his presidency and soon after, but began to turn against him in 2022 in conjunction with DeSantis's rise in popularity in some conservative circles.
While occasionally taking swipes at Trump, articles during and immediately after Trump's presidency were largely positive, with one soon after the Jan. 6 riot defending his conduct, titled "'Let's All Remain Peaceful,' Says Trump In Clear Incitement To Violence." Others indirectly defended his presidency.
The tone of the website turned decidedly against Trump during the midterm elections, with articles blaming Trump for the disappointing Republican performance in 2022.
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Articles criticizing Trump then approached the subject from a pro-DeSantis angle, with articles such as "Trump Attacks DeSantis For Failing To Fire Dr. Fauci, Rushing Untested Vaccine" from February 2023.
The website describes itself as a satirical news site that writes articles "about Christian stuff, political stuff, and everyday life."