Ron DeSantis dismisses Donald Trump’s attacks as an ‘establishment Republican’

Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, a 2024 presidential candidate, pushes back against former President Donald Trump’s attempts to label him an “establishment Republican,” saying the “facts” tell a much different story.

“How many establishment Republicans would have sent illegal aliens to Martha’s Vineyard?” Mr. DeSantis said in an interview with Newsmax. “How many establishment Republicans would have opposed Disney?”

Mr. DeSantis kicked off his 2024 campaign for the GOP presidential nomination this week, sparking a long-awaited clash with Mr. Trump, his former ally.

Mr. Trump and his allies have spent months trying to downplay Mr. DeSantis and tarnish his image in the eyes of primary voters.

They picked his record, poked fun at his rigid style, and lumped him in with former House Speaker Paul Ryan, the Republican from Wisconsin who was seen as moderate and too soft by the Make America Great Again movement.

“I haven’t spoken to Paul Ryan since I became governor,” DeSantis, who was first elected in 2018, said in an interview with Newsmax.

Mr. DeSantis also said that attempts to link him to former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove were also false.

“I met Karl Rove once in my life. They are not involved in my political operation,” he said. “So it’s just fabricated garbage that people are putting online.”

Mr DeSantis said he hoped people would “look at the facts”.