Former President Donald Trump’s recent attack on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) did not include nicknaming but instead was an attack on policy.
While DeSantis has not yet announced his intention for the 2024 presidential race it is widely suspected that he will be Trump’s chief rival for the GOP’s 2024 nomination. This is why Trump’s recent attacks focused on policy have marked such a stark new direction in the conflict between the two men, especially since some of these policy comments appear to have stuck with Republican voters.
Ethanol rules
On Monday during an event in Davenport, Iowa Trump attacked DeSantis for his call to limit ethanol production. Iowa is the leading state in ethanol production and the fuel compound plays a large role in the state’s economy.
As Trump pointed out during DeSantis’ time as a congressman he had voted in favor of a bill that would have brought an end to the Renewable Fuel Standard, which mandates a certain percentage of ethanol needs to be used for the nation’s fuel supply. As ethanol is strongly connected to the people of Iowa, these comments were particularly effective with the crowd of the first caucus of the GOP primary.
Social Security and Medicare
As Trump pointed out, DeSantis has also had a position regarding Social Security and Medicare that is much different from his own. Specifically, Trump claimed that DeSantis was looking to cut Social Security and had even voted against the program three times. He had also called for the minimum retirement age to increase to 70 years old.
