Donald Trump said that Ron DeSantis cried when asking for his endorsement in the 2018 governor’s race in Florida – and said the emerging GOP star would be working at a pizza parlor if he didn’t get the ex-president’s backing.
The latest attack on DeSantis came during a wide-ranging interview where Trump told Fox News‘ Sean Hannity that he is not to blame for the Truth Social post where he was wielding a baseball bat next to an image of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
The former president has increased in recent days his offensive rhetoric against his opponents – both Democratic and Republican.
Trump said that he only knew DeSantis because he was one of the many GOP lawmakers that defended him during his impeachment investigations when he was president.
‘So what happened with Ron is the following,’ Trump told Hannity in an interview aired Monday evening. ‘He came to see me, he was getting killed, he was being crushed. Adam Putnam it was over.’
‘Ron came to see me, tears in his eyes,’ the ex-president continued. ‘He said, ‘I need you to do me a big favor.’ I said, ‘What’s the favor?’ ‘Would you endorse me? I fought for you.’
Former President Donald Trump said that Ron DeSantis came to him with ‘tears in his eyes’ to ask for his endorsement in the 2018 Florida governor’s race
DeSantis has not yet announced his run for president, but is taking all the steps indicative that he could announce a bid for the White House
Trump has repeatedly said DeSantis would not have won his primary race against former Rep. Adam Putnam if he did not get his backing. Trump also claims that if DeSantis does run for president in 2024 it would be very ‘disloyal’ to him.
The interview comes as the Stormy Daniels’ hush money case heats up in New York this week.
Earlier in the interview, Trump told Hannity that he is not to blame for his Truth Social post where he was holding a baseball bat near an image of DA Bragg after facing criticism for the post.
A follow-up post also warned of ‘death and destruction’ if he ended up indicted by the grand jury, which convened again on Monday to hear from an additional witness.
Trump told Hannity in the interview taped Sunday that he didn’t create the image and said he was just reposting a ‘good story’ from the right-wing outlet the National File, which created the side-by-side image.
Also at the top of the interview, Trump repeated his denial that he ever having a sexual relationship with Daniels.
‘I never had a relationship with her, I never had an affair with her. It’s made up,’ Trump said.
He further explained that the picture in question of him holding the bat was taken from a White House event where he was celebrating products that are made in America.
‘You have to understand that when the story was put up – we put up a story – we didn’t see pictures,’ Trump said of his team putting out the story on his social media platform Truth Social. ‘We put up a story that was very exculpatory, very good story from the stand point of what we’re talking about.’
‘And they put up a picture of me,’ he continued. ‘And you know where I was holding the baseball bat? It was at the White House. ‘Make America, Buy America,’ because they did a lot of ‘buy American’ things, and this was a company that makes baseball bats.’
‘And then they put next to that picture a picture of Alvin Bragg. I didn’t do that, they did that. I guess, the people who do the paper,’ he concluded.
Former President Donald Trump shared an article Thursday about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg that was illustrated with a picture of the ex-president holding up a baseball bat, positioned next to one of the Democratic DA looking frightened
Trump shared this article that shows these pictures side by side: one of the ex-president with a baseball bat and another with Manhattan District Attorney looking frightened
Trump continued his assault on DA Bragg on Thursday amid reports an indictment was coming down as soon as last Tuesday by sharing an article that was illustrated with a picture of the ex-president holding up a baseball bat, positioned next to an image of the Democratic DA looking frightened and raising his hand in a defensive position.
In a follow-up post, Trump called Bragg a ‘degenerate psychopath,’ as he gave the chilling threat that there would be ‘death & destruction’ should he be charged with a crime.
Trump’s attorney in the case, Joe Tacopina, distanced himself from his client’s repeated attacks on Bragg, claiming he can’t advise the former president on his social media strategy.
‘I’m not his social media consultant,’ Tacopina said during an interview on NBC Meet the Press program on Sunday morning when specifically asked about the baseball bat post.
He added: ‘I think that was an ill-advised post that one of his social media people put up and he quickly took down when he realized the rhetoric and the folder that was attached to it.’
While Trump initially said he’d be arrested on Tuesday – and encouraged his supporters to ‘protest!’ – grand jury proceedings have wrapped for the week, so a potential indictment won’t be coming until Monday at the earliest.
The grand jury in the case reconvened on Monday after breaking with cadence last week when Bragg told panel members not to come to the courthouse.
Former head of the National Enquirer David Pecker left the Manhattan courts Monday afternoon amid reports the grand jury had reconvened to hear from another witness in the hush money case.
The grand jury did not vote on Monday on whether to indict the former president after hearing testimony from Pecker – but are expected to reconvene on Wednesday, according to reports.
Former President Donald Trump warned Friday of ‘death & destruction’ if he’s charged next week in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case
Former President Donald Trump is photographed at his West Palm Beach golf club Thursday as he waits to find out whether he’ll be indicted over the 2016 hush-money scheme
Pecker, who was photographed by DailyMail.com leaning over in the back of a car leaving the courthouse on Monday, was involved in controversy surrounding the 2016 presidential election when he bought exclusive rights to stories that could be damaging to Trump’s campaign.
A source told DailyMail.com last week that Bragg is ‘having trouble convincing the jury to swallow the case. It’s a weak case and has caused divisions in the DA’s office.’
‘What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country?’ Trump posted to Truth a little after 1 a.m. Friday.
‘Why & who would do such a thing?’ he asked.
‘Only a degenerate psychopath that truely (sic) hates the USA!’ he said, pointing a finger at Bragg.
Trump has deployed controversial rhetoric all week when he’s posted on Truth about the case.
On Thursday, he pushed back on calls for his supporters to be ‘peaceful’ if he’s indicted – which would be historic, as no other former president has ever been charged in a criminal probe after leaving office.
‘EVERYBODY KNOWS I’M 100% INNOCENT, INCLUDING BRAGG, BUT HE DOESN’T CARE. HE IS JUST CARRYING OUT THE PLANS OF THE RADICAL LEFT LUNATICS. OUR COUNTRY IS BEING DESTROYED, AS THEY TELL US TO BE PEACEFUL!’
On Friday morning, he simply wrote on Truth: ‘PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT!’
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is pictured Thursday arriving at his office
On Saturday, Trump encouraged his supporters to ‘protest!’ if he’s charged, echoing calls he made after falsely telling his supporters that the 2020 election was stolen from him, which resulted in the Capitol attack on January 6.
That social media post factored into a U.S. District judge’s decision Thursday to keep jury members anonymous in a seperate Trump-related case, the defamation suit being lobbed at Trump by rape accuser E. Jean Carroll.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said an anonymous jury was appropriate ‘on the basis of the unprecedented circumstances in which this trial will take place, including the extensive pretrial publicity and a very strong risk that jurors will fear harassment, unwanted invasions of their privacy, and retaliation.’
The judge said Trump’s March 18 call for ‘protest’ and to ‘take our country back’ if he were indicted in the separate hush-money case has been viewed by some as an incitement to violence by the ex-president.
The ex-president was spotted at his West Palm Beach golf club Thursday, but is expected to travel to Waco, Texas for a campaign rally Saturday – his first Texas rally of the 2024 presidential cycle.
