Here are 25 things Donald Trump has said about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R):
On DeSantis becoming Florida governor in 2018
1. "Congressman Ron DeSantis is a brilliant young leader, Yale and then Harvard Law, who would make a GREAT Governor of Florida. He loves our Country and is a true FIGHTER!" [Dec. 22, 2017]
2. "Ron came to me in desperate shape in 2017 — he was politically dead, losing in a landslide to a very good Agriculture Commissioner, Adam Putnam..." [Nov. 10, 2022]
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3. "And, by the way, he ran, I endorsed him, his numbers went through the roof." [Feb. 6, 2020]
4. "He will be a Great Governor & has my full Endorsement!" [June 22, 2018]
5. "The man he beat, the man who was expected to win easily, called and told me, after the race, he said, 'You endorsed him, and it was like a nuclear bomb went off. There was nothing I could do.'" [Feb. 6, 2020]
6. "... He's a great governor, he's a very popular governor, his numbers are in the 70s, and he's done a great job." [Feb. 6, 2020]
On DeSantis' political record
7. "Ron DeSanctimonious." [Nov. 5, 2022]
8. "Now that the Election in Florida is over, and everything went quite well, shouldn't it be said that in 2020, I got 1.1 Million more votes in Florida than Ron D got this year, 5.7 Million to 4.6 Million? Just asking?" [Nov. 9, 2022]
9. "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 ..." [Nov. 10, 2022]
10. "... And now, Ron DeSanctimonious is playing games! The Fake News asks him if he's going to run if President Trump runs, and he says, "I'm only focused on the Governor's race, I'm not looking into the future." Well, in terms of loyalty and class, that's really not the right answer…" [Nov. 10, 2022]
11. "I also fixed his campaign, which had completely fallen apart." [Nov. 10, 2022]
12. "[DeSantis] has the advantage of SUNSHINE, where people from badly run States up North would go no matter who the Governor was, just like I did!" [Nov. 10, 2022]
On DeSantis endorsing Joe O'Dea (R) in the Colorado Senate race
13. "A BIG MISTAKE!" [Oct 23, 2022]
On potentially running against DeSantis
14. "If I faced him, I'd beat him like I would beat everyone else." [Oct. 3, 2021]
15. "I think if he runs, he could hurt himself very badly. I really believe he could hurt himself badly." [Nov. 7, 2022]
16. "I would tell you things about him that won't be very flattering — I know more about him than anybody — other than, perhaps, his wife." [Nov. 7, 2022]
17. "There's not a tiff with me, and I'm way up in the polls." [Nov. 7, 2022]
18. "I think he would be making a mistake, I think the base would not like it — I don't think it would be good for the party." [Nov. 7, 2022]
On his campaign against DeSantis
19. "Here is Ron DeSanctimonious grooming high school girls with alcohol as a teacher" [Feb 7, 2023]
20. "That's not Ron, is it? He would never do such a thing!" [Feb 7, 2023]
21. "I will never call Ron DeSanctimonious 'Meatball' Ron, as the Fake News is insisting I will," [Feb. 18, 2023]
22. "It would be totally inappropriate to use the word 'meatball' as a moniker for Ron!" [Feb. 18, 2023]
23. "Great Poll numbers are springing forth for your favorite President, me, against Ron DeSanctus ..." [Feb 28, 2023]
24. "I guess people are finding out that he wanted to CUT SOCIAL SECURITY & RAISE THE MINIMUM AGE TO AT LEAST 70, at least 4 times. LIKEWISE WITH MEDICARE, WANTED BIG CUTS. HE IS A WHEELCHAIR OVER THE CLIFF KIND OF GUY, JUST LIKE HIS HERO, failed politician Paul Ryan ..." [Feb 28, 2023]
On whether he voted for DeSantis for Florida governor
25. "Yes, I did." [Nov. 8, 2022]
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