US midterm elections 2022 – Trump slams Republican rival Ron DeSantis
The former US president Donald Trump has slammed fellow Republican, Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis, as the rivalry between the two top Republicans becomes clearer.
Trump attacked DeSantis as an “average” governor, saying he lacks “loyalty.”
DeSantis, 44, had the best night for Republicans on Tuesday, having won a landslide majority to be re-elected and to steal the star status away from the former president.
DeSantis is now expected to be the GOP member to run for president in 2024.
But Trump, 76, is still standing in his way – and it’s unclear if the former president will step aside.
The former president is still hugely popular with the party’s base, and he is still widely expected to stand as an opponent for DeSantis or any other Republican wanting to win the White House in 2024.
In a lengthy statement on Thursday night, the former president dismissed DeSantis as a political lightweight who had come to him “in desperate shape” when running for his first term in 2017.
“Ron had low approval, bad polls, and no money, but he said that if I would Endorse [sic] him, he could win,” Mr Trump said. “I also fixed his campaign, which had completely fallen apart.”
The former president complained DeSantis – who he nicknamed “Ron DeSanctimonious” – was “playing games” by refusing to rule out a presidential bid.
“Well, in terms of loyalty and class, that’s really not the right answer,” Mr Trump added.
Trump is expected to announce his bid for the presidency as early as next week.
DeSantis or Trump – presidential bid 2024
DeSantis is enjoying his victory and being celebrated for his historic win, whilst the former president is being blamed for the Republican’s poor performance in the midterms.
The race for control of the Senate will come down to the wire, and will be determined by three key states – Arizona, Nevada and Georgia.
The GOP is still expected to take control of the House though the victory margin will be thinner than expected.
Voters by and large rejected candidates who backed Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud in 2020 – and many of his candidates for office struggled or lost outright.
Even close allies of the ex-president have called for him to reconsider what has been teased as a big announcement on 15 November.
