The 2024 presidential election could lead to a face-off between former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for the Republican nomination. The battle could have been elevated Monday, with DeSantis offering comments on a possible indictment of Trump.
What Happened: Trump has indicated that he believes he will be arrested Tuesday over hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels.
“Illegal leaks from a corrupt & highly political Manhattan district attorney’s office indicate that, with no crime being able to be proven, the far & away leading Republican candidate & former president of the United States of America, will be arrested on Tuesday of next week,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform over the weekend.
The arrest comes as investigators have worked on making a case that Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 prior to the 2016 presidential election.
Trump has lashed out at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over the potential indictment. Bragg also caught the attention of DeSantis, who could run against Trump in the 2024 election.
Bragg’s ties to billionaire George Soros have come into question by both Trump and DeSantis.
Related Link: YouTube Reinstates Trump's Account: A Sign of Decreased Risk — Or Outright Policy Shift?
DeSantis Reacts: The Florida governor was asked during a speech Monday if he would comment on the potential indictment of Trump and help extradite him to New York.
“I’ve seen rumors swirl, I haven’t seen any facts yet,” DeSantis said. “The Manhattan district attorney is a Soros-funded prosecutor, so he, like other Soros-funded prosecutors, they weaponize their office to impose a political agenda on society at the expense of rule of law and public safety.”
DeSantis said the district attorney has downgraded felonies to misdemeanors and been part of the reason the crime rate is going up in New York.
“We’ve seen citizens become less safe.”
While the first part of his comments seemed to defend Trump, the rival of the former president also got in a potential jab.
“I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair, I can’t speak to that.”
The audience appeared to laugh at DeSantis’s comment.
DeSantis added that the district attorney is “ignoring crimes happening every single day in his jurisdiction” and instead choosing to go back years ago to find something about “porn star hush payments.”
“I think that’s fundamentally wrong.”
A report from Politico said DeSantis will not get involved in the potential indictment “in any way.”
"I have no interest in getting involved in some type of manufactured circus by some Soros DA. I’ve got real issues I’ve got to deal with here in the state of Florida," he said.
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