Trump bashes DeSantis as an ‘average’ governor who is ‘playing games’ around his intention to run in 2024

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Former President Donald Trump ripped Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a flurry of posts on Truth Social on Thursday, calling him an “average Republican governor with great Public Relations.”

In a public statement also posted on Truth Social, Trump unleashed on his one-time ally, offering a taste of the potential insults to come if the two face off in 2024. The Florida governor is seen as a potential 2024 presidential hopeful, which could challenge the former president’s hold on the GOP should DeSantis decide to run for president.

DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment. During Florida’s gubernatorial race on Tuesday, DeSantis bulldozed past his Democratic challenger, former Rep. Charlie Crist of St. Petersburg, a feat he accomplished with decidedly less political support from Trump than in previous years.

And in his posts on Truth Social, Trump pushed the feud further, accusing DeSantis of being disloyal and referring to him again as “Ron DeSanctimonious.”

“And now, Ron DeSanctimonious is playing games! The Fake News asks him if he’s going to run if President Trump runs, and he says, ‘I’m only focused on the Governor’s race, I’m not looking into the future.’ Well, in terms of loyalty and class, that’s really not the right answer,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday. In another post, Trump took credit for DeSantis’ first run.

“Ron came to me in desperate shape in 2017 — he was politically dead, losing in a landslide to a very good Agriculture Commissioner, Adam Putnam, who was loaded up with cash and great poll numbers. Ron had low approval, bad polls, and no money, but he said that if I would Endorse him, he could win,” Trump wrote.

Notably, DeSantis has not said whether he plans to serve out his full second term as governor as the 2024 general election rolls around. And Trump has not been taking the prospect of a matchup against DeSantis quietly.

“If he did run, I will tell you things about him that won’t be very flattering,” Trump told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. “I know more about him than anybody other than perhaps his wife, who is really running his campaign.”

Last week, while campaigning in Miami, Trump noticeably did not have DeSantis alongside him, and at the event he offered a half-hearted endorsement of the Florida governor, urging voters to “reelect Ron DeSantis as your governor.”

Trump has teased a presidential run announcement to come next week at Mar-a-Lago.