HOUSTON—Donald Trump can’t help but meet Ron DeSantes. Trump never misses an opportunity to mock a party colleague. He was mocked as much as possible by calling him a double name. Meanwhile, new developments are taking place. A new controversy has been sparked by DeSantes’ security personnel who escorted Trump supporters out of a book signing event.
Trump supporters tried to attend a book signing at the Books-A-Million store in Leesburg, Florida, where the Florida governor was attending on Tuesday. It is alleged that the group was not allowed inside. The video of the incident has been released. The footage shows a security guard telling anyone wearing anything associated with Trump to leave.
It is expected that the rift between Trump and the governor will come out even more after Trump’s supporters came forward, describing him as a person who does not allow ‘free speech’. It is also noteworthy that the new developments come at a time when DeSantis has more support than Trump in the primaries.
A video shared by conservative Laura Loomer shows angry Trump supporters after being warned by a security guard that they will not be allowed inside. The people of ‘Desantis’ are here. I’m here to tell you not to come here when he’s signing books.’ – said the officer to the group wearing Trump shirts and signs.
When DeSantis’ group reiterated that they would not be allowed to demonstrate, they shot back that it was against free speech. The upset guard then compared the protesters to CNN. Loomer also alleged that the police threatened them and tried to drive them away. ‘DeSantis doesn’t want to let you in. The police threatened to arrest him for trespassing if he did not come out. This is the sign of a tyrant.’ – Loomer said.
The incident was the latest spat between supporters of Trump and DeSantis. The incident confirms reports that the feud between the two potential GOP contenders against Joe Biden is intensifying. The new developments come as Trump continues to lash out at DeSantis. The former president recently accused his former aide of being a ‘disguised rhino’ and a supporter of a ‘perverted’ organisation.
Trump vowed not to embarrass DeSantis after he privately referred to the GOP governor as ‘meatball Ron’. But before 24 hours were over, Trump’s sarcasm came again. This time the insult was also posted on Trump’s social media website, Truth Sociale.
Ron DeSanctimonius wants to cut your Social Security and Medicare and shut down Florida and its beaches. “Rinos love Paul Ryan, Jeb Bush, Karl Rove (all disasters!), no growth, Lincoln Pervert Project, & ‘unmotivated’ coach – it gets worse from there,” Trump wrote. The latest jibe comes after Trump said he wouldn’t call DeSantis ‘Meatball Ron’ in a Truth Social post on Saturday.
The allegations against DeSantis began when Trump joined the campaign late last month. He told reporters on his plane between events in New Hampshire and South Carolina that it would be a “breach of trust” if DeSantis launched a 2024 primary bid against him. Despite the backlash from the former president, a poll of 1,000 Republicans shows voters’ preference for the 2024 primary is for DeSantis to be the GOP nominee.
Results of a WPA Intelligence poll conducted February 13-16 show DeSantis winning by a 24 percent margin over Trump. In a nine-way primary, DeSantis would win by a landslide, winning 40 percent of the Republican vote. The survey included already announced candidates and some big politicians who are likely to enter the fray in the coming months.
Trump is second in the hypothetical race with 31 percent support. 9 percentage points behind the Florida governor. According to several recent polls, DeSantis is consistently the most popular GOP candidate in 2024. As concerns grow about Trump’s ability to be the ‘face’ of the GOP, DeSantis remains a rising star with a landslide victory in Florida in 2022, says WPA Intelligence Principal Amanda Iovino. All of these indicate that Trump’s position is on the wane.
Iovino said polling has consistently found since the midterm elections that even though former President Trump is still popular among Republicans, GOP primary voters are worried about whether he should remain the face and leader of the party. At one point, Governor DeSantis’ popularity soared after his 19-point victory in Florida. The combination appears to weaken Trump’s standing in the primary and strengthen Florida Gov. Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor who is also Trump’s ambassador to the UN, with 8 percent of the vote.
She announced her presidential candidacy last week with a kick-off event in her home state, which is also an early primary contest state. No other candidate included in the WPA’s hypothetical election has officially announced a bid. However, the survey was conducted with potential candidates and the report was published.
