PALM BEACH, FLORIDA — In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump poked DeSantis over falling poll numbers and claimed the governor would drop out of the presidential race to run for Senate against incumbent Florida Senator Rick Scott.
“Rumors are strong in political circles that Ron DeSanctimonious, whose Presidential run is in shambles and whose poll numbers have absolutely crashed, putting him 3rd and 4th in some states, will be dropping out of the Presidential race in order to run, in Florida, against Rick Scott for Senate,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Now that’s an interesting one, isn’t it?”
But the campaign for Ron DeSantis’ quickly denounced the former president’s claim. DeSantis’ press secretary Bryan Griffin pushed back against the “fake news” saying Trump is “panicked” by DeSantis’ performance at last week’s Republican debate.
“This is fake news,” DeSantis’ press secretary Bryan Griffin wrote on Twitter. “Clearly, Donald Trump and his army of consultants are panicked about @RonDeSantis’ winning debate performance and the strong momentum that has followed.”
This is fake news. Clearly, Donald Trump and his army of consultants are panicked about @RonDeSantis' winning debate performance and the strong momentum that has followed. They know this is a two-man race, and we will carry this on to a win in this presidential primary. Instead… https://t.co/f4PNHEzHnE
— Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) August 28, 2023
Griffin said the Trump campaign should focus on getting their candidate out on the campaign trail in Iowa and on the debate stage. Trump has been noticeably absent on the campaign trail as he deals with mounting legal issues.
On Monday, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., set a March 4 trial date over alleged conspiracy charges claiming Trump attempted to overturn the 2020 election. But the date could conflict with other trials Trump faces and may affect his ability to campaign ahead of Super Tuesday on March 5, 2024.
