FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Former Attorney General William Barr praised former President Donald Trump’s “very successful administration” — and offered scathing criticism of his former boss Tuesday during a South Florida appearance about his life and 22 tumultuous months in the Trump administration.
Barr, who is persona non grata with the former president, also used the occasion to praise Gov. Ron DeSantis. He said that he wasn’t making an endorsement of the Florida governor, who is widely expected to seek but hasn’t yet announced a candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — which Trump also is seeking.
From the beginning until almost the end, Barr asserted that Trump’s policies were stellar. He lost re-election because of his own shortcomings, Barr said, including refusing to stop “acting like a jerk,” a label Barr repeatedly applied to his former boss.
