Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP / Getty Images
A leader molded in his image and likeness . That was the concept that Donald Trump had just a few months ago of Ron DeSantis , the governor of Florida who also seemed the perfect example of his Make America Great Again ideology. But, as they say in politics, “the honeymoon” between the two is over , and the former president has changed the way his co-religionist expresses himself.
At the beginning of 2021, DeSantis took the lead in the response of his state to the covid crisis – 19, with a government non-intervention line . So enthusiasm grew for him from both GOP operators and donors, which did not go unnoticed in Trump’s eyes.
Just in April, the former president declared in a television interview that “certainly” would consider DeSantis for the position of vice president in case you applied for a third campaign in 2024; six months later the tone changed when Trump demanded that he publicly rule out that he would seek the candidacy to the White House.
CNN quotes a person close to the former president, who told him that “it’s not that Trump is complaining about Ron… but likes to remind Ron and others that he did ”, adding that he hopes DeSantis will be more grateful to him.
Trump wants to take credit for the success of DeSantis, or at least that is what Taylor Budowich, spokesman for the former president, did, who told CNN that Trump’s triumph in Florida in 2020 “paved the way for Republicans, including Governor Ron DeSantis, to raze in the state of 2022″. He suggested that he “catapulted him (…) into the governor’s mansion,” by backing him in the party primaries in 2018.
“President Trump remains committed to and supporting Governor Ron DeSantis, who has been a champion of the ‘America First’ agenda of the President Trump, ”added the spokesperson.
DeSantis’s refusal to publicly dismiss himself toward 2024 irritates Trump to such an extent that, although two close people have said that DeSantis has privately stated that he does not want to challenge him , Trump demands that it be ruled out in public.
DeSantis’s “is an intelligent vision . Until you’re re-elected, don’t start having a conversation about 2024. If you are trying to ask people for their vote and you lean towards presidential speculation, it makes it much more difficult, ”stated a former Trump adviser.
The Governor of Florida has already presented his candidacy for reelection to the Florida government in 2022 , and has stated on television that he does not consider “anything beyond doing my job.” Trump is particularly frustrated by DeSantis’ organic enthusiasm among wealthy donors, who have not skimped on supporting him for a second term as Florida governor.
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