Donald Trump tore into his Republican rival Ron DeSantis at a rally in Iowa on Monday, calling him “sanctimonious” and comparing him to Mitt Romney.
The former president claimed Mr DeSantis had “strongly opposed ethanol” in the past and “wanted to decimate social security”, which Mr Trump himself promised not to do.
He also said Mr DeSantis had been “a disciple of Paul Ryan – a RINO loser who is currently destroying Fox”, concluding: “To be honest with you, Ron reminds me of Mitt Romney.”
Mr DeSantis is one of Mr Trump’s foremost rivals for the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination, having made a national name for himself as a crusader against so-called “woke” ideology and LGBT+ rights.
The mercurial tycoon also hit out at the New York state investigation into hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election, having earlier on Monday declined an invitation to testify before the grand jury.
"We stand up to the crooked Democrat prosecutors all over the country,” Mr Trump vowed. “Nobody's ever weaponised like this group of people. They're maniacs.”
Mr Trump is also under fire following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank – the biggest US bank failure since 2008 – after he watered down regulations during his time in office.
