Former President Donald Trump’s political allies are trying to use the possible upcoming indictment against him in the Stormy Daniels hush money case to rally the GOP against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) — increasingly the most popular roadblock in Trump’s third run for office.
On Saturday, Trump claimed in a Truth Social post that he would be arrested on Tuesday as a part of the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into the $130,000 hush money payment he made to Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. MAGAland erupted in the wake of Trump’s post, questioning the DA office’s decision and expressing outrage about the possibility of an upcoming indictment.
But one typically loud GOPer was noticeably silent the last several days: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R).
After days of mounting pressure, DeSantis addressed the issue. “I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair. I just I can’t speak to that,‘’ DeSantis told reporters at a news conference on Monday. He also accused Manhattan’s district attorney of being funded by billionaire George Soros. “I have no interest in getting involved in some type of manufactured circus by some Soros DA,‘’ he said, “He’s trying to do a political spectacle.”
The relationship between the former president and the Florida governor has gotten more strained by the day ever since Trump announced his third run for office in November.
In the last several days, DeSantis has faced mounting pressure from Trump’s most loyal supporters to speak up condemn the possible indictment.
Jason Miller — a longtime Trump advisor — highlighted DeSantis’ lack of response on Twitter over the weekend, noting the “radio silence” from DeSantis has not gone unnoticed.
Donald Trump Jr. — the former president’s eldest son — also chimed in, tweeting “Pay attention to which Republicans spoke out against this corrupt BS immediately and who sat on their hands and waited to see which way the wind was blowing.”
Jack Posobiec, a far-right provocateur and host on One America News Network, echoed Trump Jr.
“It takes 10 seconds to send a tweet ‘This prosecution of President Trump is a farce and does grave damage to our republic.’,” Posobiec wrote on Saturday.
“I’m taking receipts on everyone,” Posobiec later told the New York Times. “For DeSantis to make that post yesterday, talking about the Hurricane Ian response and nothing from the personal account whatsoever about the arrest — it was a message that was received.”
