Donald Trump's war on Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is being bolstered by former associates of the Florida lawmaker who have their own axes to grind and are providing tips for how to get under the skin of his possible rival for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
With CNN reporting that the Republican primary has already spiraled into a "food fight" and with candidates and potential candidates already trading barbs and attacks, Rolling Stone is reporting that the former president is getting outside help undercutting DeSantis before he even announces his run.
According to their report, former aides and allies of DeSantis have run to the Trump camp to spill the beans on what makes the Florida governor tick and also how to "relentlessly mess" with him.
The Trump camp is learning DeSantis "is uniquely 'insecure' and 'sensitive,' and that it’s easy to get in his head," Rolling Stone is reporting.
RELATED: Trump poised to take a 'serious hit' this week that could end his presidential hopes: analysts
According to one former DeSantis insider, "If Ron thinks the last couple months have been bumpy, he’s in for a painful ride."
“The nature of the conversations among the people who used to work for Ron is just so frequently: ‘OK, how can we destroy this guy?’" they continued. "It is not at all at a level that is normal for people who hold the usual grudges against horrible bosses. It’s a pure hatred that is much, much purer than that … People who were traveling with Ron everyday, who worked with him very closely over the years, to this day joke about how it was always an open question whether or not Ron knew their names … And that’s just the start of it.”
According to a Trump adviser, “Oh, I’ve told the [former] president several times how easy it is to mindf--k Ron," adding, "[DeSantis] takes little slights and digs incredibly personally and doesn’t really let things go. [Trump] is aware that the Florida governor is tailor-made for him to effectively mess with, until Ron backs down.”
That same adviser said it's not enough to make sure DeSantis doesn't run, his spurned allies want to see him "humiliated."
“Ron is not someone who can just ‘walk it off.’ I know because I made a lighthearted joke to him once, and he got mad and held it against me,” the former DeSantis associate recalled.“Team Trump does not want to just beat him. Team Trump wants to humiliate him maybe more than they’ve ever wanted to humiliate anybody on a national stage … [and] that is what is driving a lot of this.”
You can read more here.
