Even as former President Donald Trump prepares to make a “big announcement” tonight from his Mar-a-Lago home, much of the press seems focused on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).
During a Tuesday morning press conference, a reporter asked DeSantis to respond to the “repeated attacks” he has received from Trump and comment on the announcement Trump plans to make this evening.
With polish and poise, DeSantis brushed off Trump’s comments as “just noise,” adding that he will not allow Trump, or hostile “corporate media outlets” to distract him from the important task at hand — “delivering for voters at the highest level possible.”
DeSantis commented on what he has learned about distractions during his first term as governor:
“Well, you know, one of the things I’ve learned in this job is when you’re doing, when you’re leading, when you’re getting things done, you take incoming fire; that’s just the nature of it,” DeSantis said. “I roll out of bed in the morning, I’ve got corporate media outlets that have a spasm, just the fact that I’m getting up in the morning, and it’s constantly attacking, and this is just what’s happened.”
DeSantis continued: “I don’t think any governor got attacked more particularly by corporate media than me over my four-year term,” DeSantis continued. “And yet, I think what you learn is all that’s just noise. And really what matters is: Are you leading? Are you getting in front of issues? Are you delivering results for people? And are you standing up for folks? And if you do that, then none of that stuff matters. And that’s what we’ve done.”
“We focused on results and leadership,” added DeSantis. “And, you know, at the end of the day, I would just tell people to go check out the scoreboard from last Tuesday night,” DeSantis continued. “The fact of the matter is, it was the greatest Republican victory in the history of the state of Florida.”
TownHall.com tweeted:
The Daily Wire reported that Trump has “repeatedly tried to label DeSantis as ‘Ron DeSanctimonious,’ which has failed to stick,” and “launched an unprovoked attack.”
Most believe Trump’s war of words with DeSantis is his attempt to warn potential rivals not to contest his bid to run for president in 2024.
RTM previously noted that Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, also warned DeSantis, saying in a recent interview with Sky News, Australia:
“I think [DeSantis is] a smart enough guy to know that it would be great to have all the support of this party, of the America First, MAGA movement — whatever you want to call it — fully behind him in 2028 than possibly has, you know, fracturing it in 2024.”
Lara added: “It would be nicer for DeSantis to wait until 2028.
In a veiled threat, Lara warned that those who challenge Trump often do so at their peril.
“I can tell you those primaries get very messy and very raw. We’ve experienced that before,” Lara Trump warned.
For his part, DeSantis has chosen not to respond to Trump’s jabs.
In the last two weeks, Trump has referred to Desantis as “Governor Ron DeSanctimonious” and claimed that the governor was “desperate” and had “low approval, bad polls, and no money” before he endorsed him.
“I also fixed his campaign,” Trump claimed, adding that it had “completely fallen apart.” Trump added: “And now, Ron DeSanctimonious is playing games!”
Reporters are sure to ask DeSantis, whom many hope has aspirations for the presidency, to comment on Trump after his 9 p.m. (ET) announcement.
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