Now nemesis DeSantis takes his chance

He is actually Donald Trump’s foster son. But now Ron DeSantis uses the weakness of the Republican idol. The goal of the governor of Florida: to become the next US president.

Perhaps Donald Trump fears this man even more than all the prosecutors investigating him. He has been publicly insulting his worst opponent for months. Sometimes he calls him a “meatball,” sometimes a “globalist,” sometimes a “hypocrite.” Trump recently even spread speculation about his worst enemy about his inappropriate behavior towards young women.

Trump’s biggest rival is Ron DeSantis. He is, of all people, his former foster son and also the governor of his home state of Florida. The right-wing populist DeSantis has been considered Trump’s most dangerous competitor in the race for the upcoming Republican presidential candidacy for months. According to surveys of their supporters, Trump is clearly ahead of DeSantis. The governor of Florida has not yet officially announced his candidacy.

But what Ron DeSantis has done now is considered an open declaration of war by Trump and his campaign team. It is the prelude to what may be the dirtiest election campaign the Republican Party has ever seen. The reason for this is an interview with DeSantis that the US television channel Fox News will broadcast this Thursday. In it he takes a detailed position on his possible candidacy for the first time and clearly hands out against Donald Trump.

DeSantis, who otherwise likes to avoid journalists, obviously wants to give the impression with this conversation that the announcement of his candidacy against Trump is not a question of if, but only a question of when. Excerpts of the interview have already been released and they explain why Donald Trump is even more angry with DeSantis than with the Democrats.

“Do you think you could beat Biden?” DeSantis was asked in the interview. “I think so,” he replied without hesitation. “Do you think you have what it takes to be President of the United States?” is the next question. DeSantis’ response: “I think what it takes is having a vision for the country. Having the ability to lead and being willing to be in the fire even when it gets really hot and not under pressure to give in. And I think I have all those things.” DeSantis circumvents a final commitment to his internal party candidacy against Trump. But it looks like a last test balloon before the time comes.

In any case, Trump and his team took the bait right away. For Trump, the matter is clear: DeSantis will compete against him. Since the first excerpts of the interview were published, the ex-president has almost exclusively fired tirades against his party colleagues. “While I fight the radical left lunatics, the law enforcement officers and prosecutors who want to destroy us all, Ron DeSanctimonious – ‘Ron the hypocrite’ is Trump’s pun – is not doing what he should be doing for the people of Florida.” Trump raged on his social network Truth Social. Instead, De Santis prefers to spend his time with an English TV presenter fighting for ratings.