(NewsNation) — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis responded to attacks from former President Donald Trump and outlined his own leadership style in an extensive interview as the two prepare for a likely clash in the 2024 presidential election for the Republican ticket.
Trump has been blasting DeSantis for months, giving his potential rival the nickname “Ron DeSanctimonious.”
“I don’t know how to spell DeSanctimonious, I don’t even know what it means, but I like it it’s got a lot of vowels, so we’ll go with that it’s fine. You know you can call me whatever you want, just as long as you also call me a winner,” said DeSantis in an interview with Fox News’s Piers Morgan.
The New York post detailed the interview with DeSantis, which is set to air on Thursday.
DeSantis took the opportunity to draw focus to his governing style, saying, “The way we run the government I think is no daily drama; focus on the big picture.”
The Florida governor has not yet announced his presidential bid, reportedly telling Morgan “stay tuned” in reference to his intent to run.
“I have what it takes to be president and I can beat (President) Biden,” said DeSantis.
In an exclusive interview with NewsNation, Trump claimed his endorsement was the reason DeSantis won the Florida governor’s race. Trump’s claims came on the night of the midterm elections after DeSantis beat his opponent with more than 56% of the vote.
“I got him the nomination, he didn’t get it I got it,” Trump told NewsNation. “I thought that he could’ve been more gracious, but that’s up to him.”
DeSantis has mostly stayed quiet in the face of Trump’s jabs, until now.
On Monday, DeSantis took a small dig at Trump’s potential indictment, telling the press, “Look, I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star, to secure silence over some type of alleged affair.”
However, DeSantis did criticize the prosecutor in Trump’s case for ignoring rising violent crime rates in New York City to pursue an old case.
The inferred tone sent Trump to social media, posting the following on Truth Social: “Ron DeSanctimonious will probably find out about FALSE ACCUSATIONS & FAKE STORIES sometime in the future, as he gets older, wiser and better known when he’s unfairly and illegally attacked by a woman, even classmates that are ‘underage’ (or possibly a man!). I’m sure he will want to fight these misfits just like I do!”
“There comes a point where you’re going to have to push back against Donald Trump or you risk running this whole race on his terms. And I think they’re finally getting the message in Desantis world that yeah we need to start saying something,” said Max Greenwood, national politics reporter at The Hill.
