Former President Donald Trump on Friday launched a stinging personal attack against Ron DeSantis, saying the Florida governor needs emergency surgery to fix his personality deficiency.
“The problem with Ron DeSanctioums is he needs a personality transplant and those are not yet available,” Mr. Trump said in a video message posted on his social media platform Truth Social.
Mr. Trump said Mr. DeSantis’ stiff persona is part of the reason he the former president had won the support of several high-profile Florida Republicans in his third bid for The White House. “I would say when it comes to lack of personality Ron would be in a class with Asa Hutchinson - and that’s not good.”
Mr. Trump has the support of over half of Florida’s 20 House Republicans.
The DeSantis team did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. DeSantis is viewed as Mr. Trump’s chief rival for the 2024 presidential nomination. That fact has not been lost on Mr. Trump. He has directed his sharpest attacks at Mr. DeSantis, who is running second in the polls and is preparing to jump into the race.
Mr. Trump and Mr. DeSantis have been on a crash course since the 2022 midterms where Trump-backed candidates lost winnable Senate races.
Mr. DeSantis simultaneously cruised to re-election and led the GOP to big victories in Florida cementing his image as a rising star in the party and possible 2024 standard bearer.
Mr. Trump has taken credit for Mr. DeSantis’ political ascent, saying Mr. DeSantis would never have been elected governor without his stamp of approval in 2017.
Mr. Trump has since changed his tune and is trying to put some chinks in Mr. DeSantis’s armor before his presidential campaign gets off the ground.
“I’m leading DeSanctimonious by a lot,” Mr. Trump said in a CNN town hall event in New Hampshire this week. “I think he ought to just relax and take it easy and think about the future, because, right now, his future is not looking so good.”
For his part, Mr. DeSantis has tried to avoid getting into a firefight with Mr. Trump.
He has focused on delivering the message that the conservative victories he notched in Florida should serve as a blueprint for Republicans nationwide.
On Saturday, Mr. Trump and Mr. DeSantis are both scheduled to be in Iowa, home to the first-in-the-nation caucuses.
Mr. Trump plans to headline a rally in Des Moines, while Mr. DeSantis plans to be a special guest at Rep. Randy Feenstra’s 3rd annual Family Picnic and attend a Republican Party of Iowa fundraiser in Cedar Rapids.
The DeSantis visit comes on the heels of his winning endorsements from two prominent Iowa Republicans: Senate President Amy Sinclair and House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl.
“We need a leader that’s looking forward towards the future, not a leader that’s looking in the rearview mirror and potentially going to be vindictive towards other people,” Mr. Windschitl told the Des Moines Register. “We need somebody that’s accountable to the people that has proven in their state that they can do this job and take that same prosperity and spread it throughout America.”
The endorsement came a week after New Hampshire state House Republican leader Jason Osborne threw his support behind Mr. DeSantis in the presidential nomination race.
Mr. Trump closed out his video message Friday by describing Mr. DeSantis’ recent trip overseas as a “total bomb.”
“They didn’t even know what he was doing there,” Mr. Trump said, before mimicking confused world leaders. “’What are you doing here Ron? Why are you here?’”
“It was a mess,” Mr Trump said. “Thank you.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.