POKING THE BEAR

DeSantis’ Potshot at Trump Was Intended to Send a Message, Insiders Say

Since then, however, the Florida governor has been notably quiet.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will not be tormented by Donald Trump. At least, that’s what he wanted people to think when he made waves last month for taking a potshot at Trump and his then-looming indictment. Two anonymous sources close to DeSantis told The Washington Post Sunday that the governor’s strategy in making those comments was to show that he was “not going to be bullied” by the former president. At the time, it was a political play that puzzled some Republican pundits—DeSantis went out of his way to jab at the hush-money payments, while simultaneously condemning the prosecution itself. Since then, DeSantis has been quiet, presumably to avoid further backlash from Trump—who continues to mock the governor, anyway—and his supporters. But one of the anonymous sources expects the governor to push back harder on Trump if the two for president against each other.