Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has broken his silence and responded to attacks from former President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
During a press conference, DeSantis answered questions about Trump’s flurry of attacks against him in the days surrounding the midterm elections, calling him “Ron DeSanctimonious” and claiming credit for his success in Florida.
Ron DeSantis responded to Trump’s attacks against him.
— Jeff Charles, Destroyer of Democracy (@JeffOnTheRight) November 15, 2022
What do y’all think of the response? pic.twitter.com/5zCRO1Lusq
“One of the things I’ve learned in this job is when you’re leading, when you’re getting things done, you take incoming fire. That’s just the nature of it,” the Florida governor said. “I roll out of bed in the morning and I have corporate media outlets that have a spasm just because I’m getting up in the morning, and it’s just constantly attacking.”
“I think what you learn is all of that is just noise, and really what matters is are you leading, are you getting in front of issues, are you delivering results for people, and are you standing up for folks,” he continued. “At the end of the day I would just tell people to go check out the scoreboard from last Tuesday night.”
Trump belittled DeSantis in a Truth Social post last week, calling him “an average REPUBLICAN Governor with great Public Relations.”
“NewsCorp, which is Fox, the Wall Street Journal, and the no longer great New York Post (bring back Col!), is all in for Governor Ron DeSanctimonious, an average REPUBLICAN Governor with great Public Relations,” the ex-president wrote.
DeSantis’ response comes just a day after Trump formally announced that he will seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
“In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States,” he said in front of a crowd gathered at Mar-a-Lago, where his campaign will be headquartered.
Criticism of Trump has surged following disappointing midterm election results for many Trump-backed candidates in the midterms. The former president blasted Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin last week for failing Republicans in the state.
“Young Kin (now that’s an interesting take. Sounds Chinese, doesn’t it?) in Virginia couldn’t have won without me,” Trump wrote. “I Endorsed him, did a very big Trump Rally for him telephonically, got MAGA to Vote for him – or he couldn’t have come close to winning. But he knows that, and admits it. Besides, having a hard time with the Dems in Virginia – But he’ll get it done!”
