DeSantis appears to ignore Trump’s jabs as country awaits more 2024 POTUS announcements

Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who is widely expected to launch his campaign to become the 2024 GOP nominee for president, appears to have embraced a strategy of ignoring the only Republican who has announced a run so far – Donald Trump – and his public jabs at the governor.

Trump has come out publicly against DeSantis multiple times since he formally announced his 2024 run for a second term in the Oval Office in November. Politico reported this week that  Trump shared a social media post implying DeSantis has been sexually grooming underage females. Given a chance to respond at a press conference this week, DeSantis replied simply, “I spend my time delivering results for the people of Florida and fighting against Joe Biden — That’s how I spend my time. I don’t spend my time trying to smear other Republicans.”

Earlier this month, The Hill reported that DeSantis was employing the tactic of “largely ignoring” Trump’s barbs after the governor failed to even mention a series of digs the former president took at him accusing him of being disloyal and opportunistic. The Hill reported at the time that a source close to DeSantis had told them the governor “doesn’t see a real benefit in getting into this public spat with Trump.”

According to CNN and TruthOut, Trump has struggled to rake in the campaign donations he is used to since his November announcement, raising less money in the weeks following his announcement than in the weeks before. A new poll by Yahoo News/YouGov released this week showed that if former UN ambassador Nikki Haley does not enter the race, DeSantis could beat Trump in a matchup for the 2024 nomination.