Will Trump and DeSantis end up destroying each other?

It seems clear to almost everyone except the former president that Ron DeSantis will run in 2024 and will likely win the Republican nomination, writes Holly Baxter

Donald Trump introduces Florida governor Ron DeSantis during a homecoming campaign rally in 2019 (Getty)

Been there, Don that” was the headline in the small column written about Donald Trump’s 2024 announcement in the New York Post this week. The right-leaning tabloid newspaper – a key part of the Murdoch media empire – took a firm stance on the former president putting himself forward for office again, two years after failing to gain a second term.

In an article whose byline was simply “Post staff”, it referred to Trump as “a Florida retiree” before going on to state: “His cholesterol levels are unknown, but his favorite food is charred steak with ketchup.” It then poked undisguised fun at the fact that No 45 likes to refer to himself as a “stable genius”. In its final sentence, the Post conceded: “Trump also served as the 45th president.”

It was a less-than-lukewarm reception from one of the only coastal newspapers Trump might’ve hoped would drum up some enthusiasm for his run. The progressives are, for obvious reasons, not on his side. And now, after the much-vaunted “red wave” failed to materialise in last week’s midterm elections and Trump-backed candidates did particularly badly, conservatives aren’t too hot on him, either. Most have transferred their loyalty to Ron DeSantis, the one-time Trump protege who is now heckled by the former president as “Ron DeSanctimonious”. It’s a surprisingly multisyllabic nickname for Trump, but it probably won’t do much damage.