(DCWatchdog.com) – The 2024 GOP presidential nomination battle between frontrunner Donald Trump and his main rival Ron DeSantis is turning “vicious” with “personal attacks” among their aides.
The increasingly bitter contest between the former president and Florida’s governor is “sucking in” their “top surrogates” while also making a “post-primary reconciliation” between the two Republican politicians highly unlikely, writes left-leaning news outlet Axios.
Its report qualifies the animosity between the Trump and DeSantis presidential campaigns as a “ruthless war.”
The outlet argues Trump wouldn’t be content with a victory over DeSantis but instead wants to end the political careers of his rival and anyone who has endorsed him.
“The fact that so many former Trump administration officials and supporters have defected to team DeSantis has made the feud intensely personal for the ex-president,” Axios elaborates.
The report focuses on developments earlier this week, in which Trump slammed Kayleigh McEnany, his former White House press secretary and current Fox News host, for suggesting that DeSantis was catching up with the former president in Iowa.
“Kayleigh’ Milktoast’ McEnany just gave out the wrong poll numbers on FoxNews. I am 34 points up on DeSanctimonious, not 25 up,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“The RINOS & Globalists can have her. FoxNews should only use REAL Stars!!!” he added, using the term “Republican In Name Only.”
The report points to other personal attacks between the two campaigns besides Trump’s blasting of his former “ultimate loyalist” McEnany.
Thus, a former Trump campaign lawyer involved in the 2020 election result challenge has complained the former president’s supporters harassed her after saying she favored both Trump and DeSantis.
Meanwhile, Trump supporters have slammed DeSantis’ aide Christina Pushaw over her past works for foreign entities and her physical appearance.
In addition, there was an “ugly” exchange between campaign aides during Memorial Day weekend concerning DeSantis’ service in the US military.
“That can only bode well for President Biden and the Democrats, as it’s difficult to envision Trump encouraging his supporters to vote for DeSantis if the Florida governor wins the nomination,” Axios concludes.
