DECLARING WAR

Trump Slams ‘Disloyal’ DeSantis for His 2024 Aspirations

“Ron would have not been governor if it wasn’t for me,” the former president said.

Former President Donald Trump kicked off his 2024 campaign “more angry” than ever—and by taking aim at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Trump slammed DeSantis for “trying to rewrite history” about his COVID-19 policies, accusing him of shutting down Florida “for a long period of time,” even though DeSantis had cleared restaurants and bars to open by September 2020 with disapproval from public health officials as COVID-19 rates spiked out of control. The embattled former president also took to reminding DeSantis—whose suspected presidential aspirations have made him a key Republican contender for the 2024 election—of the GOP pecking order. “Ron would have not been governor if it wasn’t for me,” he said. “So when I hear he might run, I consider that very disloyal.”