Trump labels DeSantis ‘Absentee Governor of Florida’

Former President Trump slammed fellow 2024 GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis early Wednesday morning as an “absentee” governor.

“Ron DeSanctimonious has become an Absentee Governor of Florida, never there, not working,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“Get back to Florida, Ron, and do what you campaigned on, which was NOT running for President,” he added. “Fix the highest in the Nation Insurance problem. Oh, and you’re 54 Points down!”

The criticism comes after DeSantis, who frequently touts his governing chops in Florida, upped his attacks on the former president. Recently, he honed in on Trump’s criticism of his endorsements.

“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 Monday in an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, referring to Trump’s attacks on the top evangelical leader and the Iowa governor after they backed DeSantis.

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

Trump slammed Reynolds as the “nation’s most unpopular governor” after she announced she would back DeSantis, who still trails Trump in virtually all national polls.

In the Wednesday post, Trump also knocked former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has emerged as one of the former president’s most vocal critics on the campaign trail.

“The same thing happened to Sloppy Chris Christie. He failed in New Jersey, and left with an 8% approval rating, lowest ever for a governor,” Trump wrote.

The Hill has reached out to DeSantis’s campaign for comment.