Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has not yet officially entered the 2024 presidential race, but former President Donald Trump’s team is gearing up to hurl a grenade his way.
Trump’s campaign and affiliated PAC are compiling an extensive opposition research file on DeSantis’ record as a prosecutor, member of Congress, and governor of Florida. A Trump-allied group has drilled into DeSantis’ record as an assistant U.S. Attorney before running for Congress, with plans to accuse him of being a “very lenient prosecutor” in instances involving child pornography, among other things.
They recently conducted focus groups and polls to determine the best messaging to counter DeSantis. And they’re moving quickly to organise and recruit talent in critical primary states.
“For a number of years, the team felt like he had a free ride without criticism,” said Bryan Lanza, who worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign and remains close to Trump’s team. “He’s not MAGA because he’s combative and willing to fight. MAGA is the policies, and there is a lot of overlap between Trump policies and DeSantis policies. The more this is publicised, the more DeSantis will be exposed as a member of the establishment and likened to Jeb Bush.”
The preparations are the latest indication of a violent primary battle to come, one that may make the 2016 primary fireworks appear benign in comparison. It’s a high-risk, high-reward proposition. The child pornography claims, for example, are similar to those levelled by Republican Senators against then-Supreme Court candidate Ketanji Brown Jackson. In the instance of DeSantis, his colleagues have argued that the plea bargains he made were not out of the ordinary.
“To make any claim that he was soft on any kind of crime, especially child pornography, is just absurd. It violates the logic of what I witnessed in the office or what my office would allow to happen,” Ronald Henry, a retired assistant United States Attorney who served as DeSantis’ supervisor when he was a special assistant United States Attorney, told AWN. “He wasn’t a lone wolf striking deals on his own without the full weight of the US Attorney’s office scrutinising what he was doing.”
Trump’s camp has already seen some significant defections, with former allies noting the ex-“childish” president’s actions.
“Trump was a good policy guy, and I’d put him up there with Ronald Reagan on policy,” said former congressman Tom Marino, who co-chaired Trump’s 2015 campaign in Pennsylvania but is now backing DeSantis. “He’s just not a good guy… If he thinks he had trouble getting elected previously, there are more and more people across the country who say, “I was for him the first time, I was for him the second time, but with what’s going on and his troubles, I don’t believe I can support him.”
Trump hasn’t wasted any time in launching what is expected to be a major anti-DeSantis campaign. He’s poked fun at Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s reversal on raising the retirement age and privatising Social Security and Medicare, and he’s asked unsavoury questions about DeSantis’ time as a teacher in Georgia. He’s also considered nicknames for the governor, including “Ron Establishment” and “Tiny D,” which he told reporters he likes. For the time being, he has settled on “Ron DeSanctimonious,” or “DeSanctus.” Trump denied ever considering another oft-mentioned moniker, “Meatball Ron,” telling reporters it is “very crude.”
“I’m a very loyal guy,” Trump told reporters on his route to Iowa on Monday. “There is no hatred, but I believe it’s odd that he was out of politics, deceased… I don’t think it’s harmful. I’m a pretty loyal person, therefore I don’t understand disloyalty, but it’s common in politics.”
On Tuesday, Trump issued a video praising previous Florida governors and claimed the state was “doing well” before DeSantis took office. “Sunshine and the water are quite appealing; it’s not difficult to work with such factors.”
The Trump campaign’s strategy is to capitalise on the months before DeSantis’s announcement by launching new attack lines against him and portraying him as the handpicked establishment favourite rather than the heir apparent to the MAGA kingdom.
Trump’s criticisms, according to DeSantis, are just noise.
DeSantis’s spokeswoman declined to respond.
“DeSantis does not need to advertise himself,” remarked Marino. “He’s a boss. He never calls anyone names. He never makes fun of ladies. That’s a simple one. I honestly believed Trump was a policy genius who bungled it. I informed him of it. He knows everything.”
In public speeches, DeSantis has contrasted himself with Trump without mentioning him, underlining his landslide victory in 2022, saying that he does not rely on polls — a favourite tactic of Trump — to make decisions, and that his administration is leak-free.
Yet, the antagonism that has been simmering for months might erupt as the two men travel around the country, mingle with fundraisers in Palm Beach’s rich enclaves, and begin to reveal vital campaign support.
DeSantis visited Iowa twice on Friday as part of a book tour for his book, “The Courage to Be Free,” and Nevada on Saturday. On Monday, Trump travelled to Iowa for a roundtable discussion on education reform.
While DeSantis was speaking to Iowans, Trump attacked the Florida governor on Truth Social, criticising his “extremely small crowds,” support for repealing an ethanol mandate, and votes on Social Security and Medicare.
DeSantis did not mention 2024 during his address in Iowa, but his visit to the state that hosts the first election on the GOP nominating calendar signalled he is more than just toying with the idea. DeSantis is unlikely to make a presidential announcement until the end of Florida’s legislative term in May.
DeSantis’ visit to Iowa coincided with the launch of a new aligned group, Never Back Down PAC, on Thursday. Ken Cuccinelli, a former Trump administration official, leads that group. As a possible harbinger of more defections to come, Marino and another erstwhile Trump supporter, Pennsylvania Rep. Lou Barletta, also expressed their support for the committee.
Some Trump friends recognise that DeSantis has been able to recruit deep-pocketed donors as well as those establishment Republicans anxious to move on from Trump’s incessant upheaval. They believe it will be difficult for him to unite that group with some of the populist, right-wing supporters who have previously been a part of the ex-base. president’s
Trump’s campaign has attempted to divide the two by emphasising DeSantis’ voting record in Congress on military engagement overseas and entitlement reforms. They’re also eager to target DeSantis’ response to Covid, though it’s unclear how effective that attack line will be among voters who fled to Florida during the pandemic.
They do, however, intend to emphasise the “personality factor.” Trump supporters believe the governor of Florida can be awkward and mechanical in public, and that he has generally avoided the press. In contrast, Trump’s staff scheduled a trip to East Palestine, Ohio, to draw attention to a railway derailment and meet with residents affected by the crash. They have allowed local and national media to question Trump, and they have organised unannounced trips at places like McDonald’s where he may interact with the public.
