Donald Trump wants everyone to know he received more votes in Florida during the 2020 presidential election than Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) received during his reelection campaign in the state this week.
The ex-president, who is reportedly very unhappy with his one-time protege, fired off a size comparison Wednesday on his flailing Truth Social platform:
Of course Trump’s 2020 numbers were from a high-turnout presidential race while DeSantis’s figures were from a midterm election.
It also may not give the ex-president much comfort to look at it from another perspective: Trump beat President Joe Biden in Florida by about 3.4 percentage points while DeSantis romped to victory against Democratic rival Charlie Crist by nearly 20.
Given that Florida was one of the GOP’s few bright spots on the electoral map during an otherwise disappointing midterm, a growing number of voices on the right say DeSantis could beat Trump in the race for the 2024 presidential nomination.
Even the betting markets have DeSantis ahead of Trump.
Although Trump was planning to announce his ’24 candidacy next week, his advisers are urging him to hold off for now.
Trump isn’t happy about it, either.
Last week, Trump blasted the Florida governor, calling him “Ron DeSanctimonious.” And this week, Trump threatened to spill dirt on his rival.
“I would tell you things about him that won’t be very flattering — I know more about him than anybody — other than, perhaps, his wife,” Trump said.
DeSantis has not yet indicated what his plans are for 2024, but he was notably silent on the matter when Crist asked about it during a recent debate.