Former President Donald Trump has accused his Republican rival Ron DeSantis of trying to rewrite history over his response to Covid-19.
This comes as the competition to see who will represent the Republican party in the 2024 elections ramps up.
Although Florida Governor Ron DeSantis hasn't formally announced his candidacy, he is considered Trump's most likely rival.
On Saturday speaking to reporters, Trump accused the governor of “trying to rewrite history” over his response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said DeSantis "promoted the vaccine as much as anyone” despite being openly sceptical about vaccine efforts.
Trump also highlighted how DeSantis closed businesses in some parts of Florida.
Trump was also dismissive of any polls showing DeSantis leading over himself.
Trump said: “He won’t be leading, I got him elected."
He added: “I’m the one that chose him.”
With the elections taking place next year, Trump's campaign is already well underway.
"Together we will complete the unfinished business of making America great again," Trump said, at an evening event in Columbia to introduce his South Carolina leadership team.
Trump and his allies hope the events in New Hampshire and South Carolina, both states with enormous power in selecting the nominee, will offer a show of force behind the former president, after a sluggish start to his campaign that left many questioning his commitment to running again.
"They said, 'He's not doing rallies, he's not campaigning. Maybe he's lost that step','" Trump sneered, at the New Hampshire GOP's annual meeting in Salem, his first event.
But, he told the audience of party leaders he was "more angry now and I'm more committed now than I ever was."
In South Carolina, he further dismissed the speculation by saying that "we have huge rallies planned, bigger than ever before."
While Trump has spent the months since he announced largely ensconced in his Florida club and at his nearby golf course, his aides insist they have been busy behind the scenes.
His campaign opened a headquarters in Palm Beach, Florida, and has been hiring staff.
And in recent weeks, backers have been reaching out to political operatives and elected officials to secure support for Trump at a critical point when other Republicans are preparing their own expected challenges.
In his speech, he hurtled from criticism of Biden and Democrats to disparaging comments about transgender people, mockery of people promoting the use of electric stoves and electric cars, and reminiscing about efforts while serving as president to increase oil production, strike trade deals and crack down on migration at the US-Mexico border.
While Trump remains the only declared 2024 presidential candidate, potential challengers include DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who was Trump's ambassador to the United Nations.
Encumbent President Joe Biden is currently leading in the bookies as to who will win the next election.
Biden is closely followed by DeSantis and then Trump.
