Opinion: Trump resorts to smears against DeSantis

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (FLV) – On Feb. 7, a screenshot from the right-wing social media platform TRUTH Social made the rounds on Twitter.

It was of former President Donald Trump attempting to character assassinate likely 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner Ron DeSantis, current governor of Florida.

With DeSantis’ 2024 favorability trending upward and the former president’s popularity waning, it seems that Trump is getting to a point of desperation where he is attacking his fellow Republicans.

The post shared by Trump appears to show a young DeSantis smiling with some friends. This photo was first shared on Twitter on Oct. 25, 2021, by news outlet MeidasTouch.

When this photo surfaced, most Republicans found it a laughable attempt to smear DeSantis.

Twitter user @MakeAmericaMath in 2021 commented, “This doesn’t produce the effect you are going for. Showing people liking him at a party… means people like him. Nothing criminal or nefarious about taking a picture with your students. This just makes people like him more. He’s a human, not a politician.”

Another Twitter user, @DefiantLs, commented, “You people are so desperate. It would be funny if it wasn’t so pathetic.”

MeidasTouch claimed that this photo was taken in the 2001-2002 school year, which was the gap year after DeSantis finished his bachelor’s degree at Yale, and before he started his law degree at Harvard.

He spent that year teaching at Darlington School, a prestigious private school in Georgia. Here, DeSantis taught history, and coached baseball and football. During his year teaching, DeSantis was well-liked by students and faculty.

The post shared by Trump wildly claims that the photo demonstrated sexual grooming and that DeSantis facilitated underage alcohol consumption for high school students.

While no one in the photo has given an official statement about the event, it appears that DeSantis is smiling and standing with three similarly aged girls to him in someone’s home. It is alleged that these were former students of his, but this has not been substantiated.

One of the girls whose age is unknown is holding a bottle in the photo. It is unclear if this is a beer, as some on Twitter believed it was an IBC root beer. There is no evidence to suggest that DeSantis provided alcohol to her, or to anyone under 21.

A 2022 article by the New York Times discusses DeSantis’ year as a teacher. Former students of his remembered him attending a few parties with students only after they had already graduated, and mentioned finding DeSantis likable and attractive.

There are no claims of DeSantis behaving inappropriately from anyone who knew him. The primary negative things students could remember about DeSantis is that he believed abortion was wrong, which they disagreed with, and that he believed that the primary reason for the civil war was the opposing economies between the North and the South instead of slavery.

While DeSantis has an unsullied name, the same cannot be said for the former president.

One of the most significant points of contention for Trump when he ran for president in 2016, and again in 2020 was his long list of personal indiscretions. While America was able to overlook Trump’s character flaws in 2016 to avoid a President Hillary Clinton, this false mud slinging at DeSantis is incredibly hypocritical coming from Trump.

Trump making false accusations against DeSantis angered many Republicans, with them calling it “gutter trash behavior.”

This caused past-loyal Trump supporters to question his judgment, and some even said that they would rather leave a ballot blank rather than vote for Trump again.

Instead of rallying people towards himself, Trump succeeded in widening the gap and pushing more republicans to team DeSantis for 2024 before his presidential run has even been announced.

Until fall of 2022 when it became clear that DeSantis was a likely 2024 presidential candidate, Trump generally spoke well of DeSantis and praised him for his leadership in Florida where Trump resides.

Ironically enough, while Trump was busy making hateful online comments, DeSantis hosted a panel discussion on defamation where he invited multiple lesser-known Republicans to speak and share their stories of how false accusations from the media have harmed them.

DeSantis was completely unfazed by Trump’s comments and addressed it briefly in a press conference the following day stating: “I’d just say this. I spend my time delivering results for the people of Florida and fighting against Joe Biden. That’s how I spend my time.

“I don’t spend my time trying to smear other Republicans,” he said.

DeSantis continues to demonstrate class and restraint in the midst of this baseless slander. This trait would be an incredibly welcome presence in the next Republican held White House.