The Trump campaign fired its latest salvo before Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis declares his 2024 Republican presidential primary candidacy.
A spokesman issued a statement Wednesday claiming DeSantis and "his cronies" are pressuring state lawmakers to flip their endorsements from former President Donald Trump to DeSantis, under the threat of a veto. DeSantis officials vehemently denied the claims as "false" accusations.
"It's no surprise that Ron DeSantis and his political cronies have continued to terrorize the Florida legislature with the threat of his veto pen if they don't acquiesce to his demand to endorse his candidacy," Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung wrote in a statement. "There are some brave legislators who have stood up to DeSantis' swamp-like behavior and resisted his intimidation tactics in order to do what is right for Florida and the country.
"Those who he can't control — including almost the entirety of the Florida federal congressional delegation — have endorsed President Trump because he's the only candidate who can beat Joe Biden and take back the White House."
An official for the pro-DeSantis PAC Never Back Down vehemently denied the claim.
"There is no evidence to support this false accusation because it is entirely made up by Trump staffers, who are resorting to manufacturing fake news about Ron DeSantis to explain the tsunami of nearly 200 endorsements in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Florida for the governor in just the last few days," Never Back Down's strategic communications director Matt Wolking told Newsmax in a statement.
An unnamed DeSantis political operative also told Newsmax that Trump's claims of "almost universal" support in Florida is false, as the state legislature is backing the governor almost unilaterally.
"Ron DeSantis' support among Republicans in the Florida Legislature is almost universal because these lawmakers have partnered with the governor to pass the most robust conservative agenda in the history of the state, putting Florida at the top of the rankings on every key metric," the official told Newsmax on Wednesday.
The back and forth between the two leading GOP presidential primary candidates come as reports surfaced a few Florida lawmakers flipped their endorsement from Trump to DeSantis, according to NBC News.
Trump has polled well in the two leading GOP primary candidates' home state of Florida and drawn many of the GOP congressional endorsements – most of which are returning the favor to Trump after midterm endorsements.
DeSantis has yet to officially announce his 2024 GOP presidential primary candidacy, but he told Newsmax earlier this month he plans to make an announcement after the end of the legislative session and his gubernatorial office gets the budget work done.
The 2024 GOP primary will kick off in earnest this summer before the first GOP debate in August.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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