(The Guardian) Donald Trump spent this weekend campaigning in New Hampshire and South Carolina, where he made a special effort to attack Florida governor Ron DeSantis. There’s a reason for that, the Guardian’s Maya Yang reports: America’s 2024 presidential race is showing signs of kicking into gear amid reports that Florida’s rightwing Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, is now laying the groundwork for a White House bid as Donald Trump finally hit the campaign trail.
DeSantis’s moves even spurred Trump into attacking him directly as the former US president held relatively low-key events over the weekend in the key early voting states of New Hampshire and South Carolina. “Ron would have not been governor if it wasn’t for me … when I hear he might run, I consider that very disloyal,” Trump said, before seeking to attack DeSantis’s actions over fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
DeSantis began his time as Florida’s governor in the shadow of Trump, whose political messaging he closely emulated. But he has since emerged as Trump’s most powerful political rival in the Republican party, increasingly popular with many party officials who are wary of the scandals and chaos that accompanied Trump’s time in office.
DeSantis’s moves even spurred Trump into attacking him directly as the former US president held relatively low-key events over the weekend in the key early voting states of New Hampshire and South Carolina. “Ron would have not been governor if it wasn’t for me … when I hear he might run, I consider that very disloyal,” Trump said, before seeking to attack DeSantis’s actions over fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
DeSantis began his time as Florida’s governor in the shadow of Trump, whose political messaging he closely emulated. But he has since emerged as Trump’s most powerful political rival in the Republican party, increasingly popular with many party officials who are wary of the scandals and chaos that accompanied Trump’s time in office.
