Tension has been budding between former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — two of the Sunshine State’s biggest Republicans.
Trump didn’t endorse the Floridian this year in the state’s gubernatorial race and DeSantis, in turn, didn’t attend Trump’s rally on Sunday, as I previously reported for the Deseret News.
So, two events took place in Florida on Sunday — the former president campaigned to support Sen. Marco Rubio, and DeSantis held his own event across three counties, including Hillsborough, Sarasota and Lee, per CNN.
Trump chooses name calling, DeSantis stays quiet
Just a day before, Trump touted his own popularity within his party and gave his potential 2024 rival a nickname: “Ron DeSanctimonious,” according to CBS News.
“Nothing like trashing a Republican Governor 4 days before Election Day when his name is on the ballot. #team,” Josh Holmes, a Republican strategist and former campaign manager for Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, wrote on Twitter.
DeSantis did not mention the former president during his rally but, as CNN’s Steve Contorno writes, it’s evidently become impossible for the two to avoid each other.
“We have two very stubborn, very type-A politicians in Florida that are at the tip of the spear for the GOP,” a Republican official told the news outlet. “They both command attention but they both have their own political operations and that’s what you’re seeing. It’s already exhausting to talk about.”
Who is more popular — Trump or DeSantis?
A New York Times/Siena College poll from July found that although Trump is the most preferred Republican candidate for president, with 49% of Republican primary voters supporting him, DeSantis comes second with 25% of support.
A campaign staffer to DeSantis told Politico that the Florida governor knows Trump’s nature and is playing the game accordingly.
“So I think what you’ve seen is him strategically take jabs without taking direct jabs at Trump,” the staffer said. “Ron’s very smart, whatever he does he’s going to be calculated and diligent about it.”