‘A big mistake’: Trump fires shot at Ron DeSantis for backing a Republican candidate he’s opposing
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Donald Trump openly criticized Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Sunday night for a gaping wound in a once close relationship that has since been marked by months of veiled jabs and reports of nasty personal comments.
DeSantis appears to have angered the former president by backing Joe O’Dea, a moderate GOP candidate in Colorado who isn’t afraid to criticize Trump.
O’Dea, a construction manager, is on the run to oust Democratic Senator Michael Bennet from the battlefield.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social app that the endorsement of DeSantis was ‘A BIG MISTAKE’.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the DeSantis governor campaign for comment.
On Sunday, O’Dea’s campaign revealed that the popular Sunshine State governor had recorded a 50-second audio spot endorsing him for the Colorado Senate seat.
“Hello, this is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. America needs strong leadership and it is badly needed. That’s why I support Joe O’Dea for the US Senate. Colorado, please vote for Joe O’Dea,” DeSantis says in the recording.
“I watched Joe from a distance. And I am impressed. This man is not a career politician.’
He goes on to say that Bennet “voted with President Joe Biden’s agenda 98 percent of the time.”
Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis consistently top GOP voter polls on who Republicans want to be their presidential candidate in 2024
DeSantis also praised O’Dea’s support for building a wall along the southwestern border with Mexico.
It is a signature idea of Trump, although the former president was not mentioned.
Joe is focused on building the wall and tackling crime. He will stand up to the large spending of politicians in both parties and cut red tape,” DeSantis said in the ad. “Vote for Joe O’Dea and let’s paint Colorado red.”
O’Dea responded to DeSantis’ support on Twitter: “Governor DeSantis is a fighter – a true leader – who has brought progress and prosperity to Florida. I am honored by his support.’
DeSantis approved Colorado Senate candidate Joe O’Dea Sunday. O’Dea’s moderate, anti-Trump campaign is seen as a possible roadmap for the GOP to regain a foothold in battlefield states
It’s a clear departure from how O’Dea has looked at Trump, against whom he pledged to “actively campaign” in a CNN interview earlier this month, should the ex-president rejoin in 2024.
O’Dea instead suggested candidates such as DeSantis, former ambassador to the United Nations Trump administration, Nikki Haley, and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott.
“They can run and serve for eight years,” O’Dea said after noting the trio. “I’m going to do my job as a US senator to make sure they have good campaigns here in the primaries so that we have a good selection of candidates for 2024.”
And while neither Trump nor DeSantis have announced their intention to run, both men have consistently topped the polls on who Republican voters want as their presidential candidate.
Multiple reports suggest Trump was furious that DeSantis did not rule out the possibility of challenging him in a primary.
A profile of the Florida governor’s meteoric rise in Vanity Fair revealed that the ex-president labeled him “disloyal” and “overrated.”
An excerpt from Maggie Haberman’s book “Confidence Man,” published in The Atlantic, claimed that Trump called DeSantis “fat,” “whiny,” and “fake.”
Trump posted on his Truth Social app Sunday night that DeSantis made ‘A BIG MISTAKE’ in endorsing O’Dea
O’Dea has previously vowed to ‘actively campaign’ against Trump in 2024 while holding back DeSantis as a potential presidential candidate
DeSantis’ narrow 2018 win over ex-Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum was widely attributed to Trump’s support for his campaign — when DeSantis was a member of the House Freedom Caucus.
Their close relationship broke down as DeSantis’ star grew.
And despite months of waiting for public attacks, DeSantis has brutally locked Trump in private, according to Vanity Fair.
While he has no objection to presidential speculation so far, the Sunshine State governor has reportedly told donors he would be taking on a Trump challenge “head on.”
“He calls him a TV personality and an idiot who has nothing to do with presidency,” an employee told the outlet.
The report suggests that his plan of attack would be largely focused on showing Trump’s broken promises and empty threats as mere boasting.
An unnamed Republican source recalled telling donors: “[T]the only way to defeat Trump is to attack him head-on. He says he would turn to Trump during a debate and say, “Why didn’t you fire Fauci? You said you’d build the wall, but there’s no wall. Why is that?”