Donald Trump continues to troll Ron DeDSantis by claiming the Florida governor is being sent to Walter Reed Army Medical Center for an “emergency personality transplant”.
The former president took to Truth Social on Sunday night for his latest attack on the man believed to be his biggest Republican threat in the 2024 presidential race.
Calling him by his favourite nickname of “Ron DeSanctimonious”, Mr Trump once again took credit for “put[-ting]” Mr DeSantis in his current position as governor of Florida.
“The Globalist, China hawking and RINO infiltrated Club For No Growth, which now wants to give up backing Ron DeSanctimonious because they realize there is no personality or people skills there, are beside themselves, and just don’t know what to do,” he ranted.
“Florida has the Sun & the Ocean, and was GREAT long before I put Ron there. The semi-elite “No Growthers” are considering sending Ron to the great Walter Reed Medical Center for an emergency personality transplant. His poll numbers are crashing!”
Hours earlier, he had also lashed out at the Florida governor, repeating his often-made claim that he had “begged” for Mr Trump’s endorsement in the gubernatorial race.
“So why would a very disloyal Ron DeSanctimonious be considered even a good politician? He was DONE when he came to see me, losing badly to Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam by insurmountable numbers,” he said.
“Ron was performing poorly as a candidate, getting beaten at every turn, when he asked (begged!) me for my Endorsement, which I gave him. His then losing campaign immediately turned around, & he easily won the Republican Nomination. My Rallies then won him the General…THANKS PRESIDENT TRUMP!”
There’s been no love lost between the two former allies for quite some time – ever since Mr DeSantis emerged as the Republican favourite to take on Mr Trump in 2024.
Mr DeSantis is yet to announce his bid but began receiving support from the Republican party and conservative media in the immediate aftermath of the midterm elections, where many of Mr Trump-endorsed candidates failed to get the vote of the American people.
Despite the repeated attacks from Mr Trump since then, Mr DeSantis has largely avoided retaliating and engaging in a full-blown tit-for-tat with the former president.
However, when Mr Trump was arrested and charged with 34 felonies in New York in early April, Mr DeSantis took a thinly veiled jab at him.
When asked about the situation, Mr DeSantis retorted that he himself had no experience “paying hush money to a porn star”.
Then, last week a super PAC supporting Mr DeSantis released a television ad accusing Mr Trump of spending airtime and money attacking the Florida governor.
“Donald Trump is being attacked by a Democrat prosecutor in New York,” the ad said.
“So why is he spending millions attacking the Republican governor of Florida? Trump’s stealing pages from the Biden-Pelosi playbook.”
The latest spat comes as Mr Trump’s civil rape trial begins this week in New York.
Columnist E Jean Carroll has claimed that Mr Trump raped her in the dressing toom of the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in the 1990s. Jury selection begins on Tuesday in the case.
Meanwhile, the Florida governor is gearing up for a trip to Japan, South Korea, Israel and the UK this week as part of an international trade mission.
