Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis fired back at former President Donald Trump after the ex-commander-in-chief criticized the Republican governor’s handling of COVID-19.
This comes after Trump took a swipe at DeSantis for closing Florida beaches on weekends during the pandemic and warned him not to run for president in 2024.
“The Fake News Media was good yesterday in their coverage of my stops in New Hampshire and South Carolina. Other than The Globalist Street Journal, which is rarely accurate or good, they said the day was really ‘amazing,’” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post. “The enthusiasm to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN has never been stronger. The revelations about Ron DeSanctimonious doing FAR WORSE than many other Republican governors, including that he unapologetically shut down Florida and its beaches, was interesting, indeed. DJT leading BIG!!!”
On Tuesday, DeSantis broke his silence on the former president’s attacks, saying he faces criticism from all sides but the verdict is for the people to decide.
Ron Desantis responds to a question by @henryrodgersdc on recent criticism he's received from Donald Trump:
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) January 31, 2023
"People are able to render a judgment on that, whether they re-elect you or not…that verdict has been rendered by the people of the state of Florida." pic.twitter.com/15Ez0SHoSU
“I roll out of bed, I have people attacking me from all angles. It’s been happening for many, many years. And if you look at the good thing about it, though, is like if you take a crisis situation like COVID, you know, the good thing about it is when you’re an elected executive, you gotta make all kinds of decisions. You gotta steer that ship, and the good thing is that the people are able to render a judgement on whether they reelect you or not,” he told reporters.
“I roll out of bed, I have people attacking me from all angles. It’s been happening for many, many years. And if you look at the good thing about it, though, is like if you take a crisis situation like COVID, you know, the good thing about it is when you’re an elected executive, you gotta make all kinds of decisions. You gotta steer that ship, and the good thing is that the people are able to render a judgement on whether they reelect you or not,” he continued.
DeSantis is rumored to be announcing his presidential run in the coming weeks, according to sources close to the Florida governor.
Trump, however, still holds a plurality of support among Republican voters. The latest NYT/Siena survey found that nearly 50 percent of voters said they want him to run in 2024, while 25 percent named DeSantis.
