In an interview with NewsNation on Tuesday (November 8), former President Donald Trump expressed his belief Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) could have been “more gracious” to the former President after he endorsed him.
At the interview at his Mar-a-Lago residence, Trump told Markie Martin that he “always had a decent relationship” with DeSantis, telling Martin that after Trump’s endorsement in Florida’s 2018 gubernatorial race, DeSantis “was gone.”
The former President expressed that had it not been for him, DeSantis would not have been “a factor in the race,” but following Trump’s endorsement, “the race was over.”
Trump added that it wasn’t DeSantis who got the nomination but Trump, explaining that had it not been for the former President’s endorsement, DeSantis wouldn’t have received the GOP nomination.
Pointing to rallies he held for DeSantis in the final days of the 2018 election cycle Trump explained he believed DeSantis “could have been more gracious.”
Trump’s comments in the NewsNation interview are another jab he’s made toward DeSantis recently.
On Saturday (November 4), Trump called the Florida Governor “DeSanctimonious” while discussing polling numbers at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Saturday’s remarks were the second public sign the relationship between DeSantis and Trump had fractured. The first was an announcement Trump would be hosting a rally in Miami, a campaign stop that lacked DeSantis’ attendance. The snub was deliberate, according to reports.
But during Sunday’s Miami rally, Trump urged voters to vote for DeSantis, likely a move to appease Florida voters and maintain a united front.
