UNITED STATES: On Friday, Republican presidential contenders Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis attended the same event in the contest for the White House in 2024, but even a day after Trump was charged with new crimes, it was the former president who denigrated DeSantis rather than the other way around.
Trump, who has throughout the year consistently targeted DeSantis, his closest competitor for the Republican nomination, told a gathering of Iowa Republicans “not to take a chance” on the Florida governor he mockingly dubs “DeSanctus”, among other nicknames.
At the start of the year, DeSantis was considered a significant challenge to Trump, but his campaign has been losing momentum in recent weeks.
During the Republican Lincoln Day dinner in Des Moines, where 13 GOP candidates had 10 minutes each to speak to 1,200 attendees, DeSantis chose not to criticise Trump.
Only one candidate, Will Hurd, a former Texas congressman, and a less likely contender, took a swipe at Trump and faced boos when he said, “Donald Trump is running to stay out of prison.”
This year, Trump has been indicted twice, and despite the legal challenges, his poll numbers in the Republican presidential nomination race continue to rise.
In March, he was charged in New York for allegedly falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to a porn star, to which he pleaded not guilty.
In June, special counsel Jack Smith revealed a 37-count indictment accusing Trump of willful retention and improper sharing of national defense information.
Thursday’s new charges are linked to that case, when Trump was accused of instructing a staff member at his Florida residence to delete security videos to obstruct an FBI investigation, adding three more criminal counts against him, totaling 40.
Despite the criminal charges, Trump continues to maintain a strong lead in the Republican field. His position has only strengthened, as it supports his main claim of being a victim of an overreaching Justice Department.
The issue for DeSantis and his other competitors is that they have not yet devised a strategy to defeat a front-runner who is being investigated on numerous felony counts. DeSantis is avoiding attacking Trump in the indictments to avoid alienating the Republican base.
However, if he doesn’t address Trump directly, experts warn that time is running out to prevent Trump from securing the nomination.
Trump maintains a significant lead of around 30% over DeSantis, who has seen a decline in poll numbers, while the other Republican hopefuls remain in single digits, according to polls.
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