Attack ads, social media posts, vitriolic speeches: Trump's feud with DeSantis is personal

It's not just politics. It's personal.

An onslaught of attack commercials, pillorying social media posts and berating stump speeches is evidence that former President Trump isn't just battering a political rival. He is castigating Gov. Ron DeSantis for his perceived betrayal.

Trump has pretty much said so himself.

"See, I'm a loyalist," Trump said in a March speech in which he again recited how DeSantis asked for his endorsement in the 2018 Florida governor's race, and how that support was pivotal to DeSantis winning. "So he gets the nomination because of you. He wins the election because of you. Two years later, the fake news is up there saying, 'Will you run against the president? Will you run?' And he says, 'I have no comment.' I say that's not supposed to happen."

What has followed has been a series of sharply-worded attack ads, with stinging images, singularly aimed at his erstwhile political apprentice while sparing, or ignoring, an actual rival, former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador Nikki Haley, also considered a turncoat by many of the Trump faithful.

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From eating pudding to "You're fired": Trump ads take pointed aim at DeSantis

One spot ridiculed the governor for reportedly eating chocolate pudding by scooping it out of a container with his fingers. The governor has said he does not remember ever doing so, at least as an adult, but the ad pounced on the notion in a way that one steadfast Trump critic said was "creepy."

An even more blistering commercial directly struck at the governor's forsworn fealty.

It noted how Trump's endorsement "saved" DeSantis politically in that 2018 gubernatorial campaign and showed a clip of the governor thanking Trump for "standing by me when it wasn't necessarily the smart thing to do."

"Instead of being grateful, DeSantis is now attacking the very man who saved his career," the ad goes on to say. "It's time DeSantis remembers how he got to where he is."

Then it concludes with a clip from a 2018 DeSantis campaign ad in which the then-GOP gubernatorial candidate quoted Trump's signature phrase from his The Apprentice TV show. "Then Mr. Trump said, 'You're fired,'" DeSantis said in the ad. "I love that part."

The ad finished by firing this zinger: "Truth is, there is only one man who can make America great again."

Trump's biting commercials aimed only at DeSantis. Because he's top rival? Or is it personal?

The ads aren't the only reason why Trump, who was impeached and acquitted twice and then indicted in March, has surged to a double-digit lead over the as-of-yet non-candidate DeSantis in poll after poll. A survey of GOP primary voters by a CBS News-YouGov poll, issued May 1, found Trump with a 36-point lead over DeSantis, 58% to 22%.

Trump World orbiters say the "personal" nature of Trump's attacks are intended, and unmistakable.

"He got elected because of Donald Trump," said Mike Lindell, founder of the MyPillow company, and a regular at Trump political events at Mar-a-Lago. "He was like, way down. He was nobody and because Donald Trump believes in the guy, that's how he got elected. And then DeSantis turns on him."

Longtime Trump adviser and political strategist Roger Stone acknowledged the attacks on DeSantis cut deeper than, say, those on yesteryear rivals like U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and former Gov. Jeb Bush.

Stone said it's a "fair statement" to say that Trump has taken DeSantis' actions as a personal affront.

Stone echoed the former president's sentiments that his "endorsement catapulted" DeSantis to the GOP gubernatorial nomination five years ago. He recalls how Trump, amid a heavily contested midterm battle for control of Capitol Hill, still came to Florida "three times in the final two weeks of the 2018 election" to boost DeSantis to what was ultimately a slim 33,000-vote victory over Democrat Andrew Gillum.

Stone has been among the governor's harshest critics since speculation of a possible DeSantis White House run began to swirl. In a viral video a year ago, Stone told Trump to "watch DeSantis" before calling the governor an expletive. In 2021, he threatened to run against DeSantis in last year's gubernatorial election if the governor did not abandon his reported 2024 ambitions.

"Donald Trump didn't play any initial role in getting Marco Rubio into the U.S. Senate," Stone said. "In all honesty, Ron would be, if I were to make a smart ass remark, I'd say he'd be managing a McDonald's now if he weren't governor."

Lincoln Project, which knows a thing or two about political ads, not shocked by Trump attacks at DeSantis

The ferocity of the attack on DeSantis should not surprise anyone, said a leader in the group that made a name for itself airing biting TV and online commercials aimed at Trump.

Rick Wilson, a Tallahassee-based former GOP political strategist and a founder of the Lincoln Project, said he can see why "Trump feels betrayed by DeSantis" and concedes the former president's "anger with DeSantis is justified on that particular point." But Wilson said no one should be shocked by the level of vitriol in the personal attacks.

"Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump? This show was always only going to end one way, and that way was blood," Wilson said. "It was never going to be a peaceful transition of power between these two guys. There was never going to be a day where Donald Trump woke up and said, 'You know, I think I'm going to let DeSantis get away with this stuff.' It was never going to happen."

Founded in late 2019 by former Republicans and so-called "Never Trumpers," the Lincoln Project's anti-Trump ads were a staple of the 2020 presidential campaign.

Since then, the group has broadened its topics to include support for Ukraine in its fight with Russia as well as other issues. Its ads have won numerous "Pollie Awards" presented by the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) as well as "Webby Awards" from the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.

Wilson said the Make America Great Again Inc. commercials fired at DeSantis are "good ads for their audience, the hardcore cranky MAGA types" that will be critical in the GOP primaries next year.

"I like to think I do some pretty good ads," Wilson added, saying the Trump ads were "effective, but they weren't politically elegant. The pudding one gives you the creeps."

There's been a changing of the guard among Trump's political advisers, expert says

He counsels other Republicans and Democrats to look beyond the commercials, however, and be prepared.

Wilson said there's been a changing of the guard among Trump's political advisers. He said Trump's inner circle, with veterans like Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, are top-tier political strategists and the former president seems to have traded his chaotic style for a much more "disciplined and focused campaign."

"All the clowns are off the train and they've got serious people there," Wilson said. "I take them seriously because they are the kind of people that we used to be when we were in the Republican Party. Serious people doing hard work."

Trump's team understands how to define opponents early on when they are relatively unknown politically, Wilson said. They've also managed to keep their candidate focused, and that's evident in Trump's landing almost a dozen endorsements from Florida congressional Republicans, which demonstrates he "is doing the work this time.

"He's putting in the days and hours," Wilson said, adding: "It's not going to be pretty for DeSantis."

Has the Trump-DeSantis alliance been irrevocably broken? That may not be the case.

Some who have supported Trump for years caution against reading too much into the Trump-DeSantis fray.

"I don't think it's personal. I think it's politics," said Joe Budd, founder of the Club 47 Trump fan club. "Trump sees DeSantis as his number one competitor for the Republican nomination. So it's politics. I really don't believe it's personal. Trump can say a lot of things that might seem personal, but it's purely political."

Budd, who last year was the GOP nominee in a congressional district that includes Palm Beach County, said the seemingly personal nature of the attacks on the governor are not "beneficial" and that even those supporting Trump don't care for them. But Budd insists the goal is to win.

"It's purely political. He sees DeSantis as his number one rival, and, you know, he's trying to knock DeSantis down, that's all," said Budd, adding that he is neutral in the Trump-DeSantis feud.

Even Stone, who has had harsh words for the governor, stops short of saying he believes Trump will hold a grudge forever.

"Trump has a long history of reconciling with people that he breaks with," Stone said. "So, it's impossible to say what the future might hold."

Palm Beach Post reporter Stephany Matat contributed to this story.

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump attacks on DeSantis venture beyond politics, turn personal