DeSantis skewers Trump for ‘energizing’ Democrats MORE than JFK in one of his sharpest attacks to date and says America does not need a president who ‘couldn’t even stop Joe’

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has escalated his verbal attacks on Donald Trump, in some of his sharpest criticism yet, as they vie for the Republican presidential nomination.

DeSantis argued Thursday at a campaign event in Tallahassee that Trump did not lose the 2020 election because more voters supported Democrat Joe Biden, but rather to drive Trump from office.

“I don’t think anyone voted for Biden, OK. They voted against Trump. That was why they did it,” DeSantis said.

“I mean, let’s face it, he energized the Democrats — you could have John Kennedy walk through the door right now, and he wouldn’t energize the Democrats as much as Donald Trump,” he continued. “That’s just the reality.”

As he slips among a crowded Republican Party presidential field in recent polls, DeSantis has sharpened his criticism of Trump in an effort to revive his campaign.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has escalated his verbal attacks on Donald Trump, in some of his sharpest criticism yet, as they battle for the Republican presidential nomination

Most notably, he used his first opening on the GOP debate stage last week to criticize the former president for skipping the event.

Trump remains his party’s most influential figure and the strong frontrunner in the presidential primaries.

He was considering a visit to Capitol Hill next week as Republicans resolve their leadership crisis following the impeachment of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

DeSantis suggested that the thousands of voters who show up at Trump’s political rallies would be matched by those who show up to prevent the former president from winning the White House again.

“A voter who goes to ten meetings counts as much as someone who is not enthusiastic and then goes to vote,” he said.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung responded to DeSantis’ comments by saying, “Ron DeSantis has the energy of a used wet cloth.”

“This is nothing more than a desperate attempt by a flailing candidate who is in the final stages of his campaign,” Cheung said in a statement.

“This DeSantis tough routine is laughable because the only thing tough about him is his ability to embarrass himself every day on the campaign trail.”

At Thursday’s event, DeSantis spoke to an audience of more than 100 supporters as he announced the support of Florida law enforcement officials.

DeSantis claimed that Trump is pushing Democrats to vote even more than highly popular former President John F. Kennedy — albeit for very different reasons

At Thursday’s event, DeSantis spoke to an audience of more than 100 supporters as he announced the support of Florida law enforcement

There were a few pro-Trump protesters outside, one shouting continuously into a bullhorn, but DeSantis paid them no mind.

Attendee Rachel Yates, who said she moved to Tampa from Chicago two years ago, said she likes both Trump and DeSantis. She said a major source of Trump’s appeal in the past was “that he came as a kind of independent.”

“I think Trump never had a history in politics and that was important,” she said.

Yates also said she liked DeSantis’ law-and-order message, symbolized by his endorsement Thursday by 60 Florida sheriffs, but declined to say which of the two candidates she favored.

Responding to questions from both the media and his friendly audience, DeSantis said no one was entitled to the Republican nomination, “especially no one who couldn’t even stop Joe Biden.” He suggested that the 77-year-old Trump did not have the energy for his old job.

“We need a president who will go full throttle for eight years,” the 45-year-old said. “We don’t need any more presidents who have lost control of their fastball.”

He also dismissed Trump’s extensive fundraising.

Trump’s campaign said Wednesday night that it raised more than $45.5 million in the third quarter of the year, while DeSantis’ team said it raised $15 million in the same period.

DeSantis said his own fundraising “is spent on actually getting the wins we know we need,” and questioned how much of Trump’s fundraising was spent on his legal troubles.including four criminal cases.

Asked if he can continue to raise enough money to enter the race, he said: “Absolutely.” But he argued that the most important thing was earning the people’s votes, “city by city, county by county.”

He went to Miami later Thursday for a fundraiser.

Meanwhile, Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley cemented her second-place status in New Hampshire with a poll released Wednesday, beating DeSantis by a whopping nine points.

While Trump is still the frontrunner, Haley has moved to a solid second place in New Hampshire, which will hold the nation’s first primary next year

A USA TODAY/Boston Globe/Suffolk Poll shows Haley has the support of 19 percent of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire.

Trump maintains his large lead in the early primaries, drawing the support of 49 percent of likely Republican primary voters in the Granite State.

DeSantis – once considered Trump’s biggest political threat – is now in third place with 10 percent support.

No other Republican candidate polls in double figures: Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie gets 6 percent, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott both vote at 4 percent, and former Vice President Mike Pence and the North Dakota Governor Doug. Burgum is at 1 percent.