Porn stars and grooming accusations: how Trump and DeSantis’ cold war turned hot

WASHINGTON. Over the weekend, the political world was waiting for Ron DeSantis to give his opinion on the possible indictment of Donald Trump. And then he waited. And waited some more.

Meanwhile, global influencers and Trump aides on social media raked DeSantis over virtual embers, pointing to his silence as complicity—or at least indifference—to the prosecution of New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg Trump, the top leader of the Republican Party.

Behind the scenes, Trump aides fanned the fire, targeted the Florida governor on newscasts, and cheered when Trump’s global influencers criticized him on Twitter and Truth Social.

When DeSantis finally spoke at a press conference in Tallahassee, Florida on Monday, he shot Bragg — and Trump.

Circus and Soros, DeSantis said of the grand jury investigation and George Soros, the billionaire liberal donor. “Silence money” and “porn star,” he added, repeating the accusation against Trump.

“I don’t know what will happen, but I do know one thing: the Manhattan district attorney is a Soros-funded prosecutor,” he said, accusing Bragg of using his office as a weapon to prosecute Trump while ignoring other crimes. (Soros supported Bragg’s campaign through the Color of Change PKK.)

But DeSantis added, “I don’t know why paying a porn star to keep silent about some alleged affair. I just can’t talk about it.”

That’s when all hell broke loose in the fight for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, signaling the start of the political arms race that Trump has been trying to stoke since DeSantis became his archrival last year.

Trump took to Truth Social to say it would be unfair if DeSantis were attacked for courting young girls or for being gay. Trump’s post left little to the imagination: it showed a man, believed to be a young DeSantis, standing with a group of young women, one of whom is holding a bottle.

“Ron DeSanktimonius will probably find out about FALSE ACCUSATIONS AND FAKE STORIES sometime in the future, when he is older, wiser and more famous, when he is unfairly and illegally attacked by a woman, even “underage” classmates (or possibly a man) . !),” Trump wrote. “I’m sure he’ll want to fight these losers just as much as I do!”

The image is from a 2021 blog post on a site called The Hill Reporter that allegedly showed a photo of DeSantis with several young women during his brief stint as a high school teacher over 20 years ago. NBC News has not confirmed the authenticity of the image.

The outbreak of open political warfare between the two men will have far-reaching consequences for Trump, who leads most national polls, and DeSantis, who distinguished himself from the rest of the Republican Party by not announcing his bid. But both sides disagree on exactly how the race was derailed.

Trump’s allies believe DeSantis’ early silence — and his decision to attack Trump directly over allegations of an affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels — show he’s not ready for prime time.

“He just doesn’t have it right now, and this weekend showed it,” said Steve Bannon, host of the Bannon War Room podcast and a former top Trump adviser. The remark about Daniels, who Trump denies sleeping with him, was “a cheap shot from cheap places,” he said.

DeSantis’ press conference was “a disaster” and 10% of Trump’s MAGA voters would never vote for DeSantis now, Bannon said.

“You can’t win without 100% MAGA – ask [Virginia Gov. Glenn] Youngkin,” he added.

Rep. Eliza Stefanik of New York, a House Republican in third place, predicted that DeSantis would see “slippage” in her poll results following the remarks.

“He’s already noticed a downturn in the last couple of weeks,” said Stefanik, one of Trump’s early supporters. “And I think you’ll see President Trump continue to solidify his position” in the Republican contest.

But DeSantis supporters saw the value of moving back and forth in a different light.

“It’s already a two-horse race,” said Dan Eberhart, DeSantis’ longtime donor who backs him in the primaries. “Apart from the substance of the attacks, the fact that Trump is after DeSantis – and no one else – betrays who he cares about the most.”

While Eberhart said other Republicans waiting on the sidelines may have “missed their window” to become contenders for the nomination, he also said the lesson of 2012 GOP candidate Mitt Romney’s swallowing attacks by President Barack Obama that summer shouldn’t be lost to DeSantis. , who largely avoided direct confrontation with Trump until Monday.

“DeSantis shouldn’t ignore him for too long,” Eberhart said.

Some DeSantis supporters fear he could be weighed down by Trump’s attacks before he announces he’s running, which he’s not expected to do for at least another couple of months.

Former Rep. Keith Rothfuss, a Pennsylvania Republican who has encouraged DeSantis to run for president, said the legal implications that Trump is facing not only in New York, but also in Georgia and other ongoing investigations, ” are still unknown.” He didn’t see a problem with the way DeSantis talked about it on Monday.

“You can simultaneously criticize what this political persecution is doing and how it undermines the rule of law, how we are pushing double standards of justice… and still looking for new leadership that can do what we need to do. really drain the swamp and really get this government back on the side of the American people,” he said. “It’s not either/or.”

“We need to move forward and move into the future,” he added.

On Monday, representatives for Trump and DeSantis did not return calls seeking comment.

Trump, who first referred to DeSantis as “Ron DeSanktimonius” days before the midterm elections, has repeatedly attacked him in recent months in an attempt to spark a war. Last month, Trump drew attention to a photograph showing DeSantis with young women. This month, the main Trump-supporting supercomputer PAC filed a complaint with the Florida Ethics Commission accusing DeSantis of violating the law through his “shadow presidential campaign.”

On both occasions, DeSantis responded with more restraint. After Trump shared the photo, DeSantis told reporters he doesn’t waste time “trying to vilify other Republicans.” In response to the complaint, Taryn Fenske, its director of communications, called it an “unfounded and politically motivated” attack.

Many elected Republican leaders have rallied to Trump’s defense since he announced on Saturday, without evidence, that he would face charges on Tuesday. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who has clashed with Trump over the Jan. 6 uprising and is considering a presidential nomination, joined the group over the weekend.

A fight between the twin titans could open up a lane for an alternate option – at least that’s what the rest of the pack is counting on.

But a fight that gets so ugly so early can drag others down the drain.