DeSantis super PAC claps back at Trump

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Trump-DeSantis primary battle is now a two-sided affair.

After sidestepping former President Donald Trump and his allies for weeks, a group of Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis supporters have begun to push back amid a flurry of criticism from the former president.

Never Back Down, the super PAC supporting DeSantis, came out swinging with two new videos that take direct aim at Trump. One that came out the same day that Trump addressed the National Rifle Association said he sided with Democrats on some gun regulations.

“Trump the gun-grabber doesn’t deserve a second chance,” the video maintains.

Then came a second one on Sunday that, after mentioning the recent indictment against the former president, claims that DeSantis would not cut Social Security — an attempt to neutralize criticism pushed by Trump world that relies on positions DeSantis took while serving in Congress. “Trump should fight Democrats, not lie about Governor DeSantis. What happened to Donald Trump?” states the ad, which aired on Fox News and was first reported by Axios.

DeSantis hasn’t announced his 2024 presidential bid yet but is widely expected to jump into the race in May or June.

Never Back Down’s activity came while a Trump-aligned group launched its own withering broadside against DeSantis. Make America Great Again Inc. put out an ad on Friday labeled “Pudding Fingers” that linked together an alleged anecdote about DeSantis eating pudding with his fingers and an assertion that DeSantis will go after Social Security and Medicare if elected president.

Never Back Down also has started spending on television ad buys in early states for an introductory positive ad about DeSantis as well.

The bottom line is that at least one part of the DeSantis orbit has decided that the persistent attacks from Trump needed to be responded to before DeSantis officially jumps into the presidential race in the next few weeks. The question is whether the governor himself and those who worked on his reelection campaign, and remain on the payroll now, also begin to respond to Trump.

There will be those who question the value of taking on Trump directly or whether it’s already too late. But for now, it’s on.

This post originally appeared in Florida Playbook.