Donald Trump took credit for Ron DeSantis’ (R) political success again while humiliating the Florida governor with unflattering claims that he begged the former president to support him in the past.
Trump gave an interview on Thursday to Hugh Hewitt, who repeatedly asked him to spill on what disparaging nicknames he plans to use against those who compete with him in the 2024 Republican primary. When Hewitt floated Glenn Youngkin (R) as a possible bid, Trump referred to the Virginia Governor as a “disappointment,” complaining that he didn’t get enough gratitude from Youngkin or his team even though “I did a lot for him. And he got elected because of me, just like Ron DeSantis. Even more so.”
DeSantis is often considered Trump’s biggest potential primary threat, and the former president has been opening fire on the governor ever since the midterm elections. Trump often claims DeSantis would’ve never won his governors race without his endorsement, so as soon as Trump brought up DeSantis’ name, the floodgates opened for a full-scale attack.
“He had nothing! He was dead, he was leaving the race, he came over and he begged me, begged me, for an endorsement. He was getting ready to drop out,” Trump said. He then shared how DeSantis supposedly grovelled for his help in beating Adam Putnam in Florida’s Republican primary.
“There were tears coming down from his eyes. He said
This went on with Trump saying “everything collapsed” for Putnam from the moment he endorse DeSantis, and that “I got him past the crackhead [Andrew Gillam], who was the hottest person in the Democratic Party at the time.” He continued to whack DeSantis and Nikki Haley for publicly brandishing their political ambitions without his approval.
Watch above, via The Hugh Hewitt Show.