Nikki Fried thinks Donald Trump will try to politically ‘destroy’ Ron DeSantis

Trump DeSantis
Both men want to be President, Fried says.

When news broke that Donald Trump was tweaking Gov. Ron DeSantis over evading questions about his COVID-19 booster vaccine, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried exulted in a tweet: “It’s happening!”

Earlier this week, Trump urged “gutless” politicians to say whether they had gotten the shot. Those comments were widely interpreted as a dig at DeSantis, who only has said he has had the “normal shot” when asked if he had gotten a booster.

Fried thinks the booster shot back-and-forth is only the beginning of issues between the Governor and his erstwhile political patron. In Jacksonville Thursday for gubernatorial campaign events, Fried predicted the former President would complicate DeSantis’ re-election prospects, potentially trying to “destroy” the Governor.

“What I think is going to happen is we all know President Trump wants to run for President again, and so does Gov. DeSantis. And so you’re going to have two individuals that are going to hit heads,” Fried said.

Fried was not finished prognosticating.

“And Trump is not somebody who’s going to sit back. He created DeSantis. And he fundamentally believes that he can destroy DeSantis.”

Trump certainly has taken credit for the Governor’s political rise.

In multiple rallies and interviews since DeSantis was elected in 2018, Trump has told the story of DeSantis beseeching a then-reluctant President for an endorsement against Adam Putnam, the former Agriculture Commissioner whose campaign was derailed by Trump shaking up the Governor’s race.

Trump has predicted that if he runs for President again, DeSantis will not run. But DeSantis has not promised he will not run for President, apparently irking Trump. Instead, DeSantis has tended to deflect the question.

“It’s way down the road. It’s not anything that I’m planning for,” DeSantis said during a Fox News Channel appearance last fall.

Despite DeSantis saying he’s not interested, prediction and betting markets have rated him consistently as the top non-Trump 2024 possibility for Republicans.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has written for FloridaPolitics.com since 2014. He is based in Northeast Florida. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


10 comments

  • Ron Ogden

    January 13, 2022 at 1:29 pm

    She needs to focus on running her department and leave off the portentous comments about topics of which she is ignorant.

  • Anne Murphy

    January 13, 2022 at 1:33 pm

    Being probably the first person in Florida, perhaps the country to have a Ron DeSantis for President sticker on their car in 2020, I can say that I just don’t like trump anymore and I’m really sad that he has to even bury DeSantis, who in my humble opinion is doing an excellent job. Please I’m sick of the death Santis bs. If you currently look at the death statistics in the hospitals right now up north people are dying at the rate five times faster in the hospitals where all these masks and protocols are the norm.

    We don’t have the countries highest vaccination rates and we are definitely staying wide-open. I really wish people would look at this data. And I wish our former president would leave him alone. Nobody asked Donald Trump if he was wearing diapers that day on the golf course which obviously the photographs showed. And the vaccine does not prevent transmission. Operation warp speed is a failure.

  • PeterH

    January 13, 2022 at 2:00 pm

    Republicans ALWAYS jump under the GQP clown bus for the benefit of Donald Trump. Liz Cheney is the exception and she would be wise to run as an independent in 2024!

    Other news sources are reporting that the GQP may force 2024 candidates to sign agreements NOT to participate in candidate debates organized by Commission for Presidential Debates. This potential move by the GQP leaves Republicans off an independent debate stage. Good luck with that!

  • Tom

    January 13, 2022 at 6:49 pm

    The debate commission is a fraud and a partisan hack Org on behalf of Dems. Repubs would be wise to stay away from the debate commission.

    Liz Cheney and her father haven’t maimed enough young Americans males with all the wars they support. Liz Cheney is deranged, she’s made a deal with the devil in Nancy Pelosi. She will lose her house seat and get crushed if she’s stupid to try for 24.

    America’s Governor is the conservative future of the GOP, he’s two steps ahead of the Dums and media.

    Biden and Harris are a joke, Repubs will sweep Congress, Senate, Govs races. DeSantis wins bigly in 22. White House very doable now for Gov Ron. No one cares what Trump or Biden think. Political Dinosaurs. Biden’s numbers are atrocious.

  • Wanda

    January 15, 2022 at 2:10 am

    Trump and DeathDesantis can want to run for office all they want to but ,both of them are losers,Trump should be in jail for the January 6th riots and DeathDesantis is a nut job has a very low IQ trying to kill all the people in Florida just what we do need running our country,Michelle Obama is going to run and will win hands down trust me ,we have to keep the nuts out of the White House vote blue in 2022

  • Tom

    January 15, 2022 at 8:44 am

    Michelle Obama is a joke.
    Only idiot women extremists like yourself wanda would suggest her. Dems are a cult figure party. America’s Governor is the future of the conservative , GOP party. He demonstrates every day he has Kahones to defeat the liberal woke, corporate media and liberal extremists. Florida is now the example for the world, faith, family and freedom.

    We are going to vote you all out wanda, you and the rest of your Manchurians. It’s over!

    • Don’t Look Up

      January 15, 2022 at 8:49 am

      Magical thinking alert!

      • Tom

        January 15, 2022 at 9:34 am

        Don’t look up, Getting your ass kicked again! Enjoy.

  • Tom

    January 15, 2022 at 9:31 am

    Don’t look up, look through your ass!
    Dumb ass.

  • Tom

    January 15, 2022 at 10:18 am

    Biden, Harris and Dums have become the laughing stock. No one is listening to bare shelf Biden. The Dems are a joke. Independents have abandoned the Dems. Hispanics have switched over to Repubs. It’s over!

    Biden’s approval in Florida is 36%. DeSantis wins huge! Kamala is hysterical. How incompetent. DeSantis will kick her to curb like Gillium.

Comments are closed.


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