(ConcernedPatriot.com) – At his inaugural MAGA rally for his 2024 presidential campaign, former President Donald Trump blasted Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) on Saturday night in Waco, Texas.
Trump criticized DeSantis on many issues, such as Social Security, Medicare, and the coronavirus pandemic, but his harshest criticism was directed at the matter of loyalty.
Trump’s whole career has been about winning. Now DeSantis is saying: you lost, that’s my brand now. Ron’s definitely running and they're on a collision course. Trump’s still the big dog but the first debate will tell us if DeSantis has enough punching power to take the throne. pic.twitter.com/Z8HxVe7ajt
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) March 23, 2023
During Florida’s 2018 gubernatorial primary battle against Adam Putnam, DeSantis reportedly tearfully approached Trump and essentially pleaded for an endorsement to help secure the nomination:
“But I’m a loyalist, and when a man comes to me, tears in his eyes, he’s at almost nothing in the polls, and he’s fighting somebody that’s at 42 [percent], and he’s got almost $30 million in the bank. He’s at almost nothing, he’s got no cash, and I said, ‘I can’t give you an endorsement. There’s no way you can win. You’re dead.”
DeSantis responded, “Sir, if you support me, I’ll win. Please. Please support me, Sir,” Trump reportedly said.
So, what occurred was that I said to Ron, “Let’s give it a chance. And after I supported him, he took off like a rocket ship,” Trump told the large gathering. “The race was over in a day; he received the nomination.”
"I appointed him" — Trump on how Ron DeSantis become governor of Florida pic.twitter.com/fyKxhjLFl0
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 25, 2023
DeSantis ran against Andrew Gillum, a Democrat who Trump referred to as one of the “hottest in all of politics” at the time, in the general election.
“Now [Gillum] turned out to be a crackhead, but I organized extremely successful, large-scale demonstrations for Ron. So we managed to nominate him. Then we won him the election,” Trump said.
A few years later, he claimed DeSantis had deceived him:
“But when you’re getting a guy, so he gets the nomination because of you; he wins the election because of you, two years later, the fake news is up there saying, ‘Will you run against the president? Will you run?’ And he says, ‘I have no comment.’ I say, ‘That’s not supposed to happen’… So I’m not a big fan.”
According to Trump, DeSantis was also called a “disciple” of former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), who wanted to cut Social Security and Medicare.
Trump also made fun of DeSantis’ poll numbers and claimed that many Republican governors managed lockdowns during the coronavirus crisis “far better” than he did.
“Oh, I think DeSanctus can get along with farmers, they keep saying. In my opinion, no. He’s not doing well with anything, according to polls,” he claimed.
WATCH: @Newzysteph breaks down Trump's attacks on Gov. DeSantis during his Waco, TX rally. #SundayShow pic.twitter.com/9RQJJK4Q19
— The Saturday/Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart (@weekendcapehart) March 26, 2023
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