Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove on Monday criticized former President Donald Trump for constantly attacking Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
What Happened: Rove on Fox News’s “The Story” criticized Trump’s rhetoric, describing it as "petty, small, and unimportant." As the former president actively campaigns for the presidency, a former George W. Bush aide said he believes Trump is "making a mistake" with the attacks.
"The former president is better [off] spending his time talking about what it is that he wants to do rather than trying to run down his opponents. Right now, ‘Ron DeSanctimonious,' I mean, first of all, what does that mean?" Rove said.
"I mean, Ron DeSantis has higher favorable than the former president. So he's sort of punching- punching down in one way [at] somebody that not everybody knows, but also punching up because the guy's more popular than he is," Rove added.
Why It Matters: This came after Trump, in a recent ad, called DeSantis "DeSanctimonious" and said the Florida leader "needs a personality transplant, and those are not yet available."
While Florida Governor has not officially launched his bid for the White House, he is widely seen as a prominent potential GOP contender who may enter the 2024 U.S. presidential race.
According to recent polls, Trump is ahead of DeSantis. Trump’s former press secretary predicted the ex-president’s lead over his other GOP nomination rivals would shrink once DeSantis officially announced his bid.
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