“Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail Thursday with a torrent of attacks on Ron DeSantis, mocking his rival’s repeated reminders that he can serve two terms to Trump’s one; belittling DeSantis’s alternating pronunciations of his own last name; and criticizing use of the word ‘woke,’ a cornerstone of DeSantis’s stump speeches,” the Washington Post reports.
“DeSantis renewed his sharpened criticism of Trump, accusing the former president of being ‘petty’ and dismissing Trump’s vow to turn the country around within six months of taking office.”
“The dueling offensives reflected the state of open warfare between Trump, the clear polling leader in the Republican presidential primary, and DeSantis, who is running a distant second but well ahead of every other contender. Since kicking off his campaign in Iowa this week, the Florida governor has stepped up his aggressions against Trump after mostly ignoring him in recent months. He is seeking to counter his rival’s relentless attacks and launch his own, spanning policy and personal fronts.”
