Ron DeSantis took a swipe at both President Joe Biden and ex-president Donald Trump at a press conference on Wednesday.
The Florida governor was asked by a reporter for his reaction to the ongoing story resulting from the finding of White House records dating back from when Joe Biden was vice president at two separate locations – his house in Delaware, and at a DC think tank.
Mr DeSantis responded with a statement seemingly swiping at both of his potential 2024 rivals, decrying any mismanagement of classified material as wrong while claiming that Democrats and Mr Biden’s supporters were trying to hold the current president to a lower standard.
“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. You can’t have two separate sets of rules based on your political party,” said the governor, to a cheer from his supporters.
It was a semi-revealing moment as it shows that the Florida governor clearly realises he must break with Donald Trump on some key issues should he hope to successfully distinguish himself as an alternative in the 2024 primary who does not merely represent the so-called “Never Trump” wing of the party.
Mr DeSantis has up until now avoided taking any bait and steered clear of openly criticising the former president, who is now a resident of his state.
Mr Trump has not returned the favour. At a handful of appearances last year, he dubbed the governor “Ron DeSanctimonious”, while he has been eager to share poll results and other analyses showing him retaining dominance over the GOP and, more importantly, beating Mr DeSantis in a hypothetical primary matchup.
Still, poll results from as recently as last month indicate that in a head-to-head matchup, Mr Trump could face a serious challenge or even lose to the Florida governor were they the only candidates competing for the GOP nomination.
