Former President Trump posted three videos directly attacking is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, his potential 2024 GOP presidential rival, Wednesday on his social media platform.
While the former president's videos largely echo his past criticisms of the governor, it's the first time Trump's released videos attacking DeSantis since the start of the campaign — and he posted three of them in short succession.
One video hits DeSantis on his past votes on cutting or restructuring ethanol subsidies, an issue with particular salience to corn-producing Iowa; another criticizes DeSantis on his past votes on privatizing Social Security; and another chides him for falling behind Trump in public polling.
Trump bristled at a perceived lack of loyalty for DeSantis, a once ardent Trump backer who won the then-president’s backing in his gubernatorial primary, an endorsement that helped him win his primary despite being a significant underdog. It’s a theme he’s echoed both on the trail and during an interview on Fox News this week.
"We did rallies for him, we did everything for him. I like people that are loyal. When you help somebody you expect that there’ll be a certain amount of dignity and loyalty. We didn’t get that from Ron, but that’s okay because we’re gonna beat him and we’re going to be in a very badly we’re going to win the presidency," Trump said in one video.
And in another, he criticized DeSantis by namechecking both the former House speaker and the party's 2012 presidential nominee-turned Utah senator:
"He is a Paul Ryan disciple. He is a Mitt Romney lover," Trump added.
