Ron DeSantis opens fire on Trump's character, chaotic leadership style.

quote:

---

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has finally taken the gloves off and launched a blistering attack on his former mentor President Donald Trump.

In an exclusive wide-ranging interview with me at the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee, he said “stay tuned” about his widely expected announcement that he’s running for president and declared: I have what it takes to be president and I can beat Biden.

But it’s what he said about Trump that will ignite a firestorm in the Republican Party.

For months, DeSantis has said nothing as Trump’s escalated his verbal attacks on him, branding his ex-protégé “Ron DeSanctimonious” and “Meatball Ron.”

On Monday, Trump went nuts after DeSantis took a shot at him over his anticipated indictment over alleged payoffs to ex-lover Stormy Daniels, saying, “I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair.”

Trump’s mood is likely to deteriorate further when he hears what DeSantis now says about him in our lengthy interview, the most personal and revealing he’s ever given.

---

quote:

---

When I asked DeSantis to cite specific differences between him and Trump, he said: “Well I think there’s a few things. The approach to COVID was different. I would have fired somebody like Fauci. I think he got way too big for his britches, and I think he did a lot of damage.”

DeSantis also slammed Trump’s chaotic, self-obsessed, and divisive management style, saying:

“I also think just in terms of my approach to leadership, I get personnel in the Government who have the agenda of the people and share our agenda. You bring your own agenda in you’re gone. We’re just not gonna have that. So, the way we run the Government I think is no daily drama, focus on the big picture and put points on the board and I think that’s something that’s very important.”

As for the rude nicknames, he mocked:

“I don’t know how to spell the sanctimonious one. I don’t really know what it means, but I kinda like it, it’s long, it’s got a lot of vowels. We’ll go with that, that’s fine. I mean you can call me whatever you want, just as long as you also call me a winner because that’s what we’ve been able to do in Florida, is put a lot of points on the board and really take this State to the next level.”

Until now, DeSantis has never engaged with any of Trump’s regular attempts to provoke him and he doesn’t intend to make a habit of it.

“To me, it’s just background noise,” he said. “It’s not important for me to be fighting with people on social media. It’s not accomplishing anything for the people I represent. So, we really just focus on knocking out victories, day after day, and if I got involved in all the under tow I would not be able to be an affective Governor. So, I don’t think it’s something that makes sense for me.”

---

quote:

---

“We had a good relationship [when I was a Congressman and I think one of the reasons he got to know me is because I saw the Russia collusion thing as a farce from the beginning. Very few people said that. We had a handful of us in Congress that were fighting back against that. So, I would go on TV, and I would defend him when it wasn’t popular and when it was kinda politically risky, but I just thought it was the right thing to do and then I thought that he had good ideas for the country. And then when I became Governor, his last two years as President, we worked very well together. He had a place in Florida and worked well with us to serve our state.”

But then came the big break-up.

“You made a fatal error in your relationship with Donald Trump,” I suggested.

“What’s that?”

“You got too popular.”

DeSantis laughed loudly.

“Well, I would say if you look at some of the change from that . . . the major thing that’s happened that’s changed his tune was my re-election victory.”

---