Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) attacked Republican primary frontrunner Donald Trump in a clip shared from the campaign trail on social media, asserting that the former president has a “sense of entitlement” and accusing him of being unable to “get off that teleprompter.”
“He is wedded to the teleprompter. He can’t get off that teleprompter. Anytime he does, he says things like, ‘Don’t vote.’ He’s telling people not to vote,” DeSantis began, adding that Trump lost the popular vote to twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016, arguing that “you don’t have all the votes you need.”
DeSantis continued:
And so I think that it’s just shown [that] this is a different Donald Trump than 2015 and ’16. [He] lost the zip on his fastball, has a sense of entitlement, all this stuff, doesn’t think he has to go through and earn it like other candidates, and that’s just not going to fly in Iowa [and] New Hampshire.
He did not mention Trump’s consistently tremendous leads in both New Hampshire and Iowa throughout the GOP primary.
Tuesday’s RealClearPolitics (RCP) average of polls, for example, showed Trump up by an average of 33 points in Iowa and 30.8 points in New Hampshire. Notably, DeSantis slipped to third place in the Granite State in RCP’s averages.
“And that’s why, you know, how this came to be with Iowa and New Hampshire…I’m glad that it works this way because I do think you got to earn it,” DeSantis, who is currently blitzing the Hawkeye State by visiting every county, continued.
DeSantis also emphasized the need to have a candidate who can win the general election, contending that there are “too many people that just are not going to vote for Trump at this point” while pointing to the impact of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent bid.
“You have another wrinkle now with RFK Jr. as a third party,” he said. “RFK Jr. will be a vessel for anti-lock down and anti-Fauci voters,” DeSantis contended, attempting to differentiate himself from Trump again by pointing to their differences in handling the coronavirus and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
WATCH:
The back and forth between Trump and DeSantis has continued throughout the primary, and Trump publicly anticipated in October that DeSantis was running out of money and would likely drop out of the race for president.
“Ron DeSanctimonious has the Poll numbers of a wounded bird falling from the sky. I am up on him by 57 points, and going higher,” Trump said, exclaiming:
He has proven to be a terrible and inept candidate who even fought Social Security and MediCare. He will SOON be out of money and dropping out of the race for President. After having single handily gotten him elected Governor, with no thanks or glory, it has been a beautiful thing to watch. Good luck Ron!.
RELATED: Exclusive — Trump on DeSantis: “He’s Crashing Badly,” Will Be “Superseded” in Second Place
Wednesday’s RCP average of polls showed Trump leading by double digits across all early states — Iowa, South Carolina, and New Hampshire. Further, it showed DeSantis in third place in New Hampshire and South Carolina.