Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) took part in an interview with Tomi Lahren this week. The presidential hopeful was on the offensive against President Donald Trump (R). During the interview, Gov. DeSantis pushed back against President Trump regarding LGBTQ+ issues.
Gov. DeSantis has prided himself on the legislation he’s passed, taking a hardline approach on immigration and LGBTQ+ issues. Last week, in an advertisement that drew criticism, the DeSantis War Room Twitter page shared an advertisement to mark the end of Pride Month.
The advertisement makes a distinction between Trump and DeSantis, positioning DeSantis as the candidate that has pushed back against the community while Trump has openly embraced it. “Let’s hear from the politician who did more than any other Republican to celebrate it [Pride Month,” the caption read, and Trump has not responded to the advertisement.
This week, in his interview on Outkick’s “Tomi Lahren is Fearless,” DeSantis further criticized Trump.
To wrap up “Pride Month,” let’s hear from the politician who did more than any other Republican to celebrate it…
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) June 30, 2023
“Yeah, look, I think identifying Donald Trump as really being a pioneer in injecting gender ideology into the mainstream, where he was having men compete against women in his beauty pageants, I think that’s totally fair game,” the Florida Governor said.
DeSantis additionally mentioned that Trump is “now campaigning, saying the opposite, that he doesn’t think that you should have men competing in women’s things like athletics.”
Trump and DeSantis have been at odds since the 2022 midterm election whrein Trump campaigned against DeSantis. Since then, the political attacks have increased, and one friends are now bitter rivals on the journey to the White House.
The advertisement also points out that Trump sided with Disney as DeSantis engaged in a rivalry with the theme park. DeSantis removed their jurisdictional autonomy, which drew criticism from voters across the political spectrum.
Trump has consistently polled higher than DeSantis, and he is considered the frontrunner ahead of the first political debate in August.
