Ron DeSantis took a veiled swipe at Trump who lost in Iowa

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Florida Gov. slapped Ron DeSantis took on former President Donald Trump in Iowa on Saturday, warning Republican voters that the party must reject a culture of defeat if it wants to wrest power from Democrats in 2024.

DeSantis, who is expected to officially launch his bid for the White House any day now, did not directly name Trump in his speech but was clearly referring to the leading Republican candidate.

Management is not about leisure. Management is not about brand building or social media conversations and virtue signaling,’” DeSantis said at a fundraising event in Sioux Center. Ultimately it’s about winning and producing results.

The Florida governor has emerged as the most formidable threat to Donald Trump securing the GOP nomination.

He presented himself to voters as a staunch conservative without Trump’s distinctive abrasiveness.

Trump was scheduled to host his own Iowa event Saturday in Des Moines, but the event was canceled due to a tornado warning.

While Trump and his campaign have raged against DeSantis, the governor has been reluctant to criticize the former president who endorsed his 2018 gubernatorial campaign.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took some veiled shots at Donald Trump in Iowa on Saturday.AP

DeSantis told voters that for conservatives to secure victories in the upcoming election, they need to stay focused on the issues and reject the culture of defeat, appearing to refer to Bidens 2020 election victory over Trump.

We must reject the culture of defeat that has affected our party in recent years. The time for excuses is over, DeSantis told prospective voters.

If we get distracted, if we focus the election on the past or on other side issues, I think the Democrats will lose us again.

Donald Trump was also scheduled to host an event in Iowa on Saturday, but it was canceled due to weather.AP

In what was essentially an early campaign speech, DeSantis told the conservative crowd that he would immediately close the southern border because of the current crisis stemming from the end of Title 42.

He also pledged to continue his fight against teaching transgender ideology in schools and ending sex-change surgery for children, pointing to his own record on the issues in his home state. He also emphasized his ongoing battle with Disney.

On Friday, the pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down announced 37 endorsements from Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate on Friday, including Senate President Amy Sinclair and House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl.

Trump led Gov. DeSantis by double digits in latest 2024 GOP primary polling.AP

The endorsements, which represent more than one-third of the total number of GOP lawmakers in the Iowa legislature, give DeSantis early access to the state’s first-in-the-nation caucus.

Trump, 76, leads DeSantis, 44, by double digits in the latest 2024 GOP primary polls, however, when matched against President Biden, the Florida governor is doing better than the former president in some surveys.

A WPA intelligence survey released last month found that Trump would lose the popular vote to Biden by an average of 3.1%, while DeSantis would beat the incumbent by an average of 1.2%.

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