Donald Trump tweaks ‘enemy’ Ron DeSantis during West Palm Beach speech

Donald Trump's first campaign rally isn't going quite as planned.

Former President Donald Trump continues to make dissatisfaction with Ron DeSantis a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, as the two appear to be on a collision course toward the 2024 GOP Primary.

“I always say hit your enemy a little early. Some people say don’t. But I say do,” Trump contended Monday, amid a speech with more than one slam of the Florida Governor.

Addressing the Trump 45 Club, in West Palm Beach Monday, now called Trump 47 since launching a third White House bid, Trump tweaked DeSantis on crowd size, comparing his event to a smaller one in New York that was part of the Florida Governor’s multi-city speaking tour to police unions.

“Ron DeSanctimonious had a crowd on Staten Island today — 139 people on Staten Island. We’ve got a lot of people. We’ve got 139 times 30,” Trump said, perhaps engaging in hyperbole. NWF Daily News estimates there were more than 300 in attendance.

These comments echoed a Truth Social post the same evening.

“Big buildup, lots of money spent, yet only 139 people showed up for DeSantis in Staten Island. FoxNews is disappointed that his Polls are crashing. Paul Ryan very unhappy. He’s a RINO in disguise, that’s why! This is 2016 all over again,” the post read.

Trump continued to hit his “enemy” thereafter.

“I don’t like hitting Republicans. I really don’t. But I did get 1.2 million more votes than Ron, 1.2 million more votes. Nobody wants to mention it. The press refuses to mention it … They know I got 1.2 million votes more than Ron. And Ron did good in Florida, but I did great. And, and we won it very easily,” Trump said, rehashing an argument he made on Truth Social months ago, when he previously rebutted DeSantis’ assertions the voters of Florida had offered a “verdict” by re-electing him in 2022 by massive margins.

Trump has continued the social media onslaught in recent days, accusing DeSantis of “trying to hide his past.” Meanwhile, DeSantis has attempted to stay above the fray as not only Trump but other GOP candidates have criticized him, offering bland responses, including on Monday.

“If you’re an officeholder and you’re just sitting there twiddling your thumbs and not getting anything done, no one ever says anything. You can kind of just fly under the radar. But when you’re out there leading, when you’re out there setting the agenda — not just for Florida, but really for the nation, which we’ve done over the last few years — people see that and the people that don’t necessarily like that are going to respond accordingly,” DeSantis contended during a friendly interview on Fox and Friends, delivered from Staten Island.

Unrelated to DeSantis, Trump also vowed to protect Medicare and Social Security, an apparent hit to U.S. Sen. Rick Scott who came under scrutiny recently for a play to sunset all federal programs after five years, which he has since rolled back to exclude Medicare and Social Security.

Trump said that “under no circumstances will we allow anyone to cut Medicare or Social Security,” speaking during another Presidents Day speech at the Palm Beach Airport Hilton.