According to a new report by RealClearPolitics, former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is blackballing everyone who had previously worked or served under Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The report states that Justin Caporale, who leads the former president’s advance team, has noted that anyone staffed during DeSantis’ recent book tour is considered a “persona non grata.” A “top Trump ally” noted that this prohibition would even extend beyond junior aides, whose tasks usually involve just setting up the space for DeSantis’ events. The source noted that it was time for choices to be made and that anyone employed in “Ron DeSantis’ presidential race” is not going to work in the Trump campaign or serve under Trump in the White House.
This threat comes at a time when the tension between Trump and DeSantis has really been heightened. Trump announced that he would be running in the 2024 presidential race in November 2022, while DeSantis has not yet announced his intentions for 2024. Despite this, it is widely suspected that DeSantis will join the race and will be Trump’s biggest rival in the GOP primary.
Over the past several weeks, Trump has increased the number of attacks aimed at DeSantis, with one of his latest slights noting that DeSantis was an “average” Republican governor and that he was much better at public relations than he was at governing.
For the first time this past week, DeSantis also returned fire during an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan in which he criticized Trump’s style, character, and leadership.
