DeSantis hits Trump for ‘out of bounds’ comments on his endorsements

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) denounced former President Trump’s attacks on top figures that endorsed the governor’s presidential run, calling his condemnation “out of bounds.” 

DeSantis, in an interview Monday evening with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, said people should have the right to have a preference in the primary without being attacked for making an endorsement, referencing Trump’s criticism of top Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R).

Trump, who remains the front-runner for the GOP nomination, slammed both for endorsing DeSantis in the 2024 GOP primary.

“I think the attacks against Bob Vander Plaats have been out of bounds, just as I think the attacks against Gov. Kim Reynolds have been out of bounds,” DeSantis said. 

Trump branded Reynolds as the “Nation’s most unpopular governor” following her endorsement earlier this month, despite her remaining popular in Iowa. He also called her “disloyal” and vowed that the move would be the “end of her political career.” 

The former president went after Vander Plaats in a post on Truth Social on Saturday, alleging he is “more known for scamming candidates than he is for Victory.” 

“I don’t believe anything Bob Vander Plaats says,” Trump said. “Anyone who would take $95,000, and then endorse a Candidate who is going nowhere, is not what Elections are all about!” 

Trump’s comment referenced a report that the DeSantis campaign, a super PAC tied to his campaign and a nonprofit organization supporting him, paid $95,000 to an organization that Vander Plaats leads called the Family Leader Foundation.

DeSantis told Ingraham that the payments were for advertising and participating in programs that the foundation held. 

“Bob Vander Plaats’s endorsement is not for sale. He’s got a great reputation,” he said. “He’s become a friend of Casey and me along the way. He’s very influential in Iowa, and so it’s a scurrilous charge. It’s without merit.”

“If somebody endorses somebody other than you, you don’t always have to lash out and attack the person who made the endorsement,” DeSantis added. 

Polls have shown Trump with a significant lead in Iowa, which will hold its caucuses Jan. 15. But he has remained below a majority in FiveThirtyEight’s polling average, standing at about 45 percent. 

DeSantis is in second with 17.5 percent, closely followed by former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley at 15.3 percent.