Former United States President Donald Trump was revealed to have taken credit for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' election win in newly-released audio by Maggie Haberman.
The Republican businessman said that DeSantis only won the race thanks to Trump's endorsement at the time. The audio clip, which was released on Wednesday, is the product of one of Haberman's interviews with the former president.
DeSantis vs Trump
Trump could be heard calmly describing to Haberman how he "rescued" DeSantis' gubernatorial campaign that was on the brink of defeat. The former president noted that the now-Florida governor was at 3% at the time, adding that DeSantis was a great defender of his in the Russia hoax.
The former president then said that DeSantis came to him to ask for his endorsement, with Trump saying that the Florida candidate had no chance with his current numbers. He went on to say that Floridians did not associate DeSantis with the word "governor."
The audio reveals Trump's latest attempts to take credit for the success of successful GOP politicians. The former president frequently touts the success of Republican candidates that he endorses, particularly in GOP primaries, as per Independent.
Eventually, DeSantis won his general election campaign against Democrat Andrew Gillum by less than half a percentage point. However, since then, his popularity has been on the rise both in his home state and nationwide with Republicans in other areas declaring their intentions to turn their territories into the "Florida" of whatever region they are from.
This resulted in DeSantis being viewed as a credible 2024 Republican candidate and a potential threat to Trump, who clearly is planning for the next election cycle. The majority of polls have shown the former president handily leading DeSantis in a hypothetical 2024 matchup.
According to Insider, the situation comes as Haberman claims that Trump talked about DeSantis to his aides more than any other potential candidate in the Republican Party. Despite the former president's claims, the reported behind-the-scenes relationship between the two politicians differs from Trump's accounts.
Behind The Scenes Criticisms
Two sources close to Trump said in September that the former president was nervous about DeSantis getting attention from a political stunt that involved chartering two planes to transport 50 migrants to Martha's Vineyard.
The sources said that the former president was irritated about DeSantis getting credit for the move and complained to his aides that the Florida governor had timed the flight in order to boost his profile among the Republican base.
Furthermore, Trump negatively reacted to the implication that the Florida governor might run against him to try to secure the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. The former president, in July, lashed out at "Fox & Friends" for mentioning a poll that showed DeSantis ahead of him. He accused the hosts of the show of going to "the dark side."
On the other hand, DeSantis previously called Trump a "moron" in private, said a report that detailed the popular Republican leader's recent rise to prominence. A staffer said that the Florida governor claimed that the former president had no business running for president of the United States, Daily Mail reported.
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