Report: Trump campaign set on ‘destroying’ DeSantis

(NewsNation) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has not yet announced a 2024 bid, but the rising star within the GOP has certainly caught the ire of the Trump campaign. Now, the former president and his team are set on “destroying” the governor’s 2024 ambitions.

DeSantis has emerged as one of the most serious challengers to Trump’s reelection bid, but new reporting suggests that isn’t the only reason some people in Trump’s orbit want to see him fail.

The battle between the former president and the Florida governor seems personal, at least for Trump and his team. A new Rolling Stone article says team Trump wants to “destroy” DeSantis. The story is perhaps a signal the fight may only get nastier.

A Trump adviser quoted in the article, says: “Team Trump does not want to just beat him. Team Trump wants to humiliate him.”

The article cites several former DeSantis aides who now work for Trump’s campaign. Those unnamed sources told the magazine DeSantis is “insecure” and “sensitive.”

The article is one of the latest blows to DeSantis, who has seen a slew of negative headlines lately and a drop in the polls.

A newly released NBC News poll shows Trump leading DeSantis in a hypothetical matchup 46% to 31%.

DeSantis, who has not announced a run for president, recently has made stops across the country.

But this week, it was the Trump campaign that appeared to score big. In a video message played to a room of evangelicals in Iowa on Saturday, Trump highlighted his actions to restrict abortion in the U.S.

“I faced down vile attacks to confirm our three great Supreme Court justices,” Trump said, later adding: “Those justices delivered a landmark victory for protecting innocent life. Nobody thought it was going to happen.”

The governor’s office did not immediately respond to our request for comment on the Rolling Stone article.

In the meantime, DeSantis announced he is about to take off on an international trip with multiple stops, including South Korea and Israel. The governor’s office is calling it an international trade mission.