The team representing former President Donald Trump’s campaign accused Florida Governor Ron DeSantis of taking advantage of his constituents by engaging in “taxpayer-funded globetrotting” during unofficial presidential campaign trips, demanding that he instead resign from his post and officially announce his 2024 run for the White House.
The Trump campaign team sent out an e-mail on Monday, referencing Florida’s “resign to run” law that mandates candidates running for political office must resign from the current post that they hold a minimum of 10 days before starting their new campaign.
“Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is currently on a month-long, taxpayer-funded presidential campaign schedule paid for by Florida taxpayers, and new questions are emerging as to whether this will force DeSantis to resign from office,” the Trump team’s email said.
DeSantis is currently engaging in a countrywide tour during April, with stops planned in Georgia, Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, Ohio, New Hampshire, Utah, Texas, and South Carolina.
In the email, Trump spokesman Steven also accused DeSantis of engaging in “taxpayer-funded globetrotting” via upcoming planned trips to several different countries – such as Japan and Israel – to “score some last-minute foreign policy credentials for his 2024 presidential campaign.”
“Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to campaign full-time for president, during the Florida legislative session, while collecting a salary and having the taxpayers pick up the costs for his travel and security. It’s a massive flip-flop from his position in 2018,” Cheung said.
However, Cheung did not provide specific evidence implicating that DeSantis is using the tax dollars of his constituents for his current travels.
DeSantis recently had two separate ethics complaints filed against him; the first from Florida Democrat Nikki Fried, who alleged he attended a $235,000 donor-funded retreat at the Four Seasons in Palm Beach, Florida. The second comes from MAGA Inc. – a Trump-linked super PAC – who filed a March 14 complaint purporting that the Florida governor had solicited and received “millions of dollars” in illegal gifts.
DeSantis has not yet announced his official run for the White House in 2024, but if the time comes that he does, he is anticipated to be Trump’s biggest rival for the GOP nomination.
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