Ron DeSantis paid right-wing satire site $21,000 to write jokes: report

Rolling Stone reported that there is a war for online influencers between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis as the two campaigns kick into high gear.

DeSantis is reportedly "offering access and (in one case) a job to buttress the governor’s online army," Rolling Stone reported.

Another "get" for both would be the conservative alternative to "The Onion," known as "The Babylon Bee." Trump has been known to tweet stories from the site, not knowing they were jokes. "The Bee reciprocated the affection with shots at the president’s enemies."

But Rolling Stone reported that in Februrary far-right activist and Trump supporter Laura Loomer spotted a $21,500 payment from DeSantis' PAC to the Bee during his governor's race. Owner of the Bee, Seth Dillon, told her that the money was for "joke/speechwriting," Rolling Stone reported.

"In text messages reviewed by Rolling Stone, Dillon claimed to Loomer that the payments were about helping DeSantis fight Democrats, not Trump."

Dillon told Loomer: “You could consider us speech writing consultants. We help him find funny angles on Democrats. We don’t attack Trump for him. That’s silly and false. They have never suggested that we write anything about Trump.”

Regardless, Trump was furious, a source told Rolling Stone. Loomer told Trump about it as the two dined one evening. Trump's campaign finance data for the committee or the Save America PAC doesn't show he's paid Loomer for any work she's done in the past several months.

“You don’t spend that much money on The Babylon Bee if you’re running for Governor, in fact, you don’t spend money on The Babylon Bee if you’re running for anything!” Trump wrote.

It has sent the conspiracy mill spinning with suspicion about the relationship between Dillon and DeSantis. He gave about $40,000 to DeSantis' "Empower Parents PAC" before the gubernatorial election. Dillion was also on hand for DeSantis' "Digital Bill of Rights" law, Rolling Stone reported.

“If a campaign pays you for a specific task or a specific email rental or whatever it is, that doesn’t mean you’re in their pocket and you’re gonna do what they say. Nobody from the DeSantis team has ever given me an order or implied such or ever will give me an order that I will comply with,” Dillon said in a Twitter Spaces conversation last week, Rolling Stone reported.

“I voted for Trump multiple times. The country was better off when he was running it,” Dillon continued when asked about the top GOP candidates. “I’m good friends with people in the Trump family and so you know this idea that I view MAGA as a whole as a cult and I’m on DeSantis’ team is just silly. I’m not bought and paid by DeSantis.”

Read the full report at Rolling Stone.