Trump roasts DeSantis as ‘wounded falling bird’ at Florida GOP event
Donald Trump said in a speech at the Florida Republican Party's Freedom Summit on Saturday that Ron DeSantis is disloyal for running against him.
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Donald Trump mocked Republican rival Ron DeSantis on Saturday, calling him a “wounded falling bird” at a GOP event in Florida.
Trump, 77, gave himself responsibility for launching the Florida governor, 45, into popularity during DeSantis’ 2018 campaign for the role.
The former president said in a speech at the Florida Republican Party’s Freedom Summit: “I endorsed him and he became a rocket ship in 24 hours…Now he’s like a wounded falling bird from the sky.”
With graphics that read “Florida is Trump Country” above him, Trump said that DeSantis is disloyal for daring to run against him in the presidential election.
Trump also pointed out DeSantis’ falling position in the polls, which suggest the former president is demolishing DeSantis in the 2024 race.
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The Florida governor has consistently polled poorly since announcing his run, with a recent survey showing him trailing Trump by 27 percentage points and tied for second place with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
DeSantis, once thought to be Trump’s strongest opponent for the GOP bid, has received several degrading nicknames from Trump, such as “Ron DeSanctimonious” and “DeSaster.”
Trump told the crowd in Florida: “We’re going to win the Florida primary for the third straight time, and we’re going to win the state by a landslide next November.”
Trump added that he convinced several Florida lawmakers to switch their endorsements from DeSantis in the days before the summit.
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While DeSantis never uttered Trump’s name at the summit, he did accuse Republicans of having “blown winnable elections” over the last three cycles and argued that the GOP brand is “toxic” outside Florida.
DeSantis told the crowd: “Florida has shown the way forward for the Republican Party.
“No state has done more to beat the left at the institutional level than we have in the state of Florida.”
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