Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis sidestepped a potential war of words with former President Donald Trump on Tuesday, just a few days after Trump took some thinly veiled shots at DeSantis during campaign events in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
During a press conference in Florida, DeSantis responded to questions about Trump's recent criticisms — particularly the handling of the COVID-19 shutdown in early 2020.
"What I would just say is this: I roll out of bed, I have people attacking me from all angles. It's been happening for many, many years," DeSantis said Tuesday. "And if you look at the good thing about it, though, is if you take a crisis situation like COVID, you know, the good thing about it is when you're an elected executive, you have to make all kinds of decisions. You got to steer that ship.
"And the good thing is that the people are able to render a judgment on that, whether they reelect you or not. And I'm happy to say, you know, in my case, not only did we win reelection, we won with the highest percentage of the vote that any Republican governor candidate has in the history of the state of Florida."
Some media outlets interpreted those comments as DeSantis mocking Trump for losing in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump, a Florida resident, heartily endorsed DeSantis during the 2018 gubernatorial race and in these midterms, voting for DeSantis in last November's governor's race — in which DeSantis crushed Democrat challenger Charlie Crist by 19-plus percentage points.
Despite that, Trump and DeSantis are the prohibitive favorites to emerge as the Republican presidential nominee next year; and that potential battle could generate some tense moments in public debates.
But 42-year-old DeSantis has yet to formally declare his presidential candidacy.
Trump loosely reasoned Saturday that DeSantis' COVID-19 pandemic policies from 2020 were a bit misguided.
"There are Republican governors that did not close their states," Trump told reporters. "Florida was closed for a long period of time. They're trying to rewrite history."
Trump also questioned DeSantis' loyalty, if he were to pursue the White House next year.
"Ron would have not been governor [in 2018] if it wasn't for me," Trump continued. "So, when I hear he might run, I consider that very disloyal."
Newsmax has chronicled a number of polls in recent weeks, pitting Trump vs. DeSantis in a one-on-one matchup for the GOP nomination.
A number of prominent Republicans — former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, current Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., former Arkansas GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and current Virginia GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin — might also declare in the coming months.
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