Florida economy was good before DeSantis: Trump
Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Gov. Ron DeSantis deserves no credit for Florida’s booming economy, and said his predecessors did better jobs of running the Sunshine State.
Ramping up attacks on his possible 2024 Republican presidential rival, Trump said Florida was already an attractive place to live long before DeSantis became governor.
“Florida was doing great long before Ron DeSanctus got there,” Trump wrote on his social media site, misspelling DeSantis’s name.
“People are fleeing from New York to Florida (and other places) because of high taxes and out of control crime, not because of governor (thank you President Trump!) DeSanctimonious,” Trump added.
Trump even praised former Florida Govs. Rick Scott and Charlie Crist. Crist lost to DeSantis as a Democrat in a landslide last year.
“Rick Scott did great, and even Charlie Crist had very good numbers,” he said. “Sunshine and ocean, very alluring!!!”
Trump also claimed that he drew a much bigger crowd to a campaign event at a West Palm Beach, Fla., hotel than DeSantis attracted Monday on Staten Island.
The former president, who announced his comeback White House run last year, has spent much of his energy knocking down DeSantis as polls show the two locked in a potentially tight fight for the GOP White House nod.
DeSantis aides say he plans to decide whether to jump into the race in the spring.
He has so far resisted counterpunching his one-time supporter, although he does often brag that he led a massive victory in Florida in the midterms at the same time that many of Trump’s handpicked MAGA candidates stumbled.
Besides Trump, the only announced GOP candidate is Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and UN ambassador under Trump. She has also carefully steered clear of attacking the former president.
Other potential candidates include former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and ex-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Trump and DeSantis are the overwhelming leaders in the polls so far with 11 months left until Iowa Republicans will gather for the first GOP caucus.