NEWSDonald Trump Claims Ron DeSantis Was 'Dead Politically' Before He Endorsed Florida Governor: 'I Got the Guy Elected'
Jun. 21 2023, Published 10:15 a.m. ET
Donald Trump was asked why he calls Ron DeSantis "Rob DeSanctimonious" during a recent interview with Bret Baier.
"I got him elected," Trump replied. "And I thought it was very disloyal when he said ‘Yes, I’d run.’ I got him past two races."
"I’m a big loyalist," Trump continued. "Some people right here in this room tell me ‘sir don’t worry about loyalty, it doesn’t mean anything in politics.’ I said, to me it does. I got the guy elected."
The 77-year-old businessman claimed his rival was "dead politically" before he endorsed him in the 2017 race to be the governor of Florida.
"I got the guy elected. He came to see me, let’s say weeping because he was dead. He was getting out of the race. He was looking for jobs already. Probably at law firms or wherever he is going to look. He was totally dead. He ran a horrible campaign … it was like a wipeout. The election was going to be very soon. I said you are dead. If George Washington endorsed you are not going to win," the former president stated.
"It was like a bomb went off," Trump recalled. "As soon as I endorsed him, he won the primary. It was over. He won by a landslide."
Trump also fumed about how DeSantis went behind his back and jumped into the presidential race.
"Three years later, they asked him, 'Are you going to run against the president?' He said, 'I have no comment.' I said, 'No comment?' No comment means he's going to run. I said this guy is going to run! And he was dead as a doorknob. I didn’t help him 90 percent. I helped him 100%. This guy was dead politically for him to then say I’m going to run against the guy that got me in office? I didn’t need that," Trump said.
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Over the past few months, the two have gone back and forth and exchanged insults during debates or interviews.
As OK! previously reported, Trump is on a mission to make sure DeSantis doesn't take over the White House.
Trump "doesn't just want to defeat Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — he's out to destroy DeSantis' political career and that of anyone who has expressed even a hint of support for his candidacy," according to Axios.
