(NewsNation) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took hold of the campaign trail after making three stops across Iowa, despite not having officially thrown his hat in the ring for the 2024 election.
Former President Donald Trump was also scheduled to hold a rally in Iowa but canceled last minute, citing weather concerns.
“We’ve done that in Florida they’ve done that in Iowa. Ya know and we’re gonna have a chance pretty soon to make sure that’s done in every state in this country,” DeSantis told a crowd in Des Moines, hinting at his plans to enter the 2024 race.
DeSantis is expected to move his headquarters to a new location, NewsNation confirmed, signaling his presidential bid could be announced soon.
“I believe that Governor DeSantis is the only leader who can see us to victory at this critical moment in American history. Because of this, I am stepping away from this role to pursue other avenues of helping to deliver the governor’s success to our country.” Bryan Griffin, now DeSantis’ former Press secretary told NewsNation.
DeSantis’ surprise stop in Des Moines, at a popular barbeque spot, was just a short drive from where Trump was set to address his supporters.
Instead, Trump opted to call supporters in the state, saying, “I wanted to see you today but a little thing called tornados they prevailed,” according to his campaign team.
The claim that a tornado prevented Trump from holding his event brought on criticism from some conservatives, who say it was a “beautiful Iowa evening.”
DeSantis allies took to social media, noting Trump’s absence and trolling him with tweets about the “beautiful” weather.
This only invited more bashing from Trump.
“Rob DeSanctimonious and his poll numbers are dropping like a rock – I would almost be inclined to say, these are record “falls.” The question: Is “Rob” just young, inexperienced and naive or, more troubling, is he a fool who has no idea what he is doing. We already have one of those in office, we don’t need another one. MAGA!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
DeSantis didn’t hold back on his criticisms of Trump either, making subtle jabs while addressing crowds in Iowa.
“We must reject the culture of losing that has infected our party in recent years,” DeSantis said. “If we make the 2024 election a referendum on Joe Biden and his failures, we provide a positive alternative for the future of this country republicans will win across the board.”
“If we do not do that if we get distracted if we focus the election on the past or on other side issues then I think the Democrats are going to beat us again and I think it will be very difficult to recover from that defeat,” DeSantis added.
Despite these messages, DeSantis has yet to make an official bid for the White House.
When asked by NewsNation whether he was close to making an announcement, DeSantis responded with “No news yet. Just hang out there.”