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The rhetoric between the two likely Republican frontrunners in the 2024 presidential race is heating up.

As former President Donald Trump focuses on possible criminal charges, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken the chance to draw a contrast between himself and the former president, even though he hasnt announced his candidacy yet.

I have what it takes to be president and I can beat (President Joe) Biden, DeSantis said, indicating he is likely to jump in the race.

Whether he is setting the stage for 2024, or trying to catch up to Trump in the polls, DeSantis has started taking jabs at Trump, including in a recent interview with Piers Morgan, snippets of which appeared in a New York Post column.

Other possible and declared Republican candidates including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have been hesitant to criticize the former president.

Meanwhile, Trump has focused most of his attacks on DeSantis.

Trump took to Truth Social to respond to DeSantis interview with Morgan, saying DeSantis is too busy chatting with a Ratings Challenged TV Host from England, (and) desperately trying to rescue his failing Campaign, while Trump is fielding off the radical Left lunatics, Persecutors and unfair Prosecutors who want to destroy us all.

In another post, Trump said that (DeSantis) should take a look at his Polls, which are crashing like few people have seen before. Thats because hes merely an average REPUBLICAN Governor who has great Public Relations, far better than deserved.

This type of division in the party is common ahead of the 2024 presidential primary, Republican consultant Doug Heye told Al Jazeera.

In his interview with Morgan, DeSantis said he would have approached COVID-19 differently than Trump did. For one, he said he would have fired Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the U.S. task force overseeing the pandemic.

I think he got way too big for his britches, and I think he did a lot of damage, he said.

As for the nickname Ron DeSanctimonious, the Florida governor said: I dont know how to spell the sanctimonious one. I dont really know what it means, but I kinda like it. Its long, its got a lot of vowels, he said, adding, I mean, you can call me whatever you want, just as long as you also call me a winner

Before the interview with Morgan, DeSantis took a swipe at Trump over payments to Stormy Daniels, saying, I dont know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair.

Then during the interview, DeSantis drew a distinction over their governing styles. So, the way we run the government, I think, is no daily drama, focus on the big picture and put points on the board, and I think thats something thats very important, he said.

As of Wednesday evening, Trump was on a posting spree on Truth Social, attacking DeSantis by listing out statistics for where Florida stands compared to the rest of the U.S.

On Education, Florida ranks #39 in Health & Safety in the Country, #50 in Affordability, and #30 in Education & Childcare, HARDLY GREATNESS THERE! he said in one of the six posts.

He also jumped on DeSantis coronavirus remarks, saying the onus of the decision-making fell on the governors. For COVID Death Rates Per State, Ron, as Governor of Florida, did worse than New York, Trump said.

The response to DeSantis interview wasnt entirely favorable. As Ben Shapiro, a conservative commentator, said on Twitter, Republicans are fine with critiques of Trump...so long as they arent perceived as lending ammo to the media and the Left.

Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, wrote on Twitter that DeSantis is finally showing his true colors.

Some GOP lawmakers sound like they may be starting to take sides in the upcoming race. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas,sounded disapproving of Trumps behavior during an appearance on Glenn Becks radio show.

Look, at the end of the day, you cannot walk away from the fact that the former president clearly paid a porn star off to hush up right before an election. That occurred, Roy said, per The Hill.

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What did DeSantis say about Donald Trump, and how did Trump ... - Deseret News

In yet another late-night video, former President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social claiming that there is a witch hunt against him, even as he claims he will be arrested on Tuesday. No arrest has been made, nor has it been confirmed by authorities, and Trumps lawyer says the former president isnt afraid of the charges against him, saying instead Hes sad [about] whats going on, CNBC reported.

Trump is currently being investigated by the Manhattan District Attorneys Office for his alleged reimbursement of legal expenses to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, amounting to $130,000 in hush money inthe Stormy Daniels case. The investigation claims the evening before the 2016 election, Cohen paid Daniels to keep quiet about a one-time sexual encounter with Trump.

Calling the Stormy Horseface Daniels, investigation an extortion plot, Trump said in the video, Theyre all sick and its fake news.

Trumps potential indictment comes as he races to build a platform for the 2024 election, and speaking on Truth Social, Trump spoke on the charges against him, saying, Our enemies are desperate to stop us because they know that we are the only ones who can stop them.

In the last several days, Trump has taken steps to gather supporters, encouraged them to protest in front of the New York City courthouse, and sent out emails en masse asking his supporters to sign a petition against his arrest and donate thousands of dollars.

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Theyre trying to intimidate YOU and cancel out YOUR vote! Trumps team wrote in an email to supporters on Monday, Business Insider reported. Which is why the Trump for President 2024 campaign is compiling millions and millions of petition signatures from Americans like you CONDEMNING these threats of a possible arrest, the email said.

Trump asked 74 million patriots to sign the petition, but the caveat to the request is a redirection to a page asking his supporters to donate upwards of $3,300 to his campaign. The outlet reported that the site does not specify what the money would go toward nor did it show how many signatures have been obtained.

Further information has not yet been released from the Manhattan District Attorneys office, but if Trump is indicted, he would become the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges.

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Donald Trump Posts Sad Truth Social Rant: 'They're All Sick and It's ... - Gizmodo

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Wisconsin Watch, a nonprofit newsroom, is partnering withGigafactto produce fact briefs bite-sized fact checks of trending claims.Sign up for ournewsletterfor more stories straight to your inbox.

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Daniel Kelly advised Republican Party officials on a plan to have a group of Wisconsin Republicans sign paperwork falsely claiming to be electors in the 2020 presidential election.

The plan failed. Wisconsins 10 Democratic electors voted for Joe Biden, who defeated Donald Trump in Wisconsin by 20,000-plus votes.

The Electoral College vote officially determines the outcome of presidential elections.

Former Wisconsin Republican Party chairman Andrew Hitt gave sworn testimony in February 2022 to the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Hitt testified to having pretty extensive conversations about the plan with Kelly, special counsel to the party. Hill also testified that before those December 2020 discussions, Kelly was not in the loop about the plan.

Kelly, a former state Supreme Court justice, is running against Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz in the April 4 election.

This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such asthis one.

Sources

Wisconsin WatchWisconsin Supreme Court candidate Dan Kelly was adviser for GOP

Milwaukee Journal SentinelBice: Supreme Court candidate Daniel Kelly was paid $120,000 by Republicans to work on election integrity, advise on fake electors

U.S. Government Publishing OfficeSelect committee to investigate the January 6th attack on the US Capitol, US House of Representatives, Washington DC, Deposition of: Andrew Hitt

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Did a Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate advise on a plan to have ... - WisconsinWatch.org

Amid speculation about the possible arrest of former President Donald Trump in connection with hush money paid to a woman several years ago, a recent Facebook post argues theres nothing "former" about his title.

"Hes not the former president according to federal and military laws and orders," the March 20 post says. It goes on to argue that under the U.S. Constitution, Trump is still commander in chief because he "became a wartime president in March 2020 with his direct order to federalize the National Guard to active duty."

This post was flagged as part of Facebooks efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

As weve previously reported on multiple occasions in response to conspiracy theories like this one, Trump is a former president, and President Joe Biden is the commander in chief. Trump left office in January 2021, when Biden was inaugurated.

Trump did declare himself a "wartime president" in March 2020 as the country tried to stop the spread of COVID-19, then relatively new on the scene.

But only Congress can declare war, and plenty of administrations have mobilized the U.S. National Guard without the expectation that theyd stay in office after they were voted out, as Trump was.

The Constitution, meanwhile, clearly states that the president "shall hold his office during the term of four years."

In a March 18 Truth Social post, Trump even referred to himself as a "former president."

We rate claims that Trump is still president and commander in chief Pants on Fire!

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Donald Trump is a former U.S. president, not the current commander ... - PolitiFact

All the while, the contributions continued: Mr. Trump gave to the P.A.L. and to the D.A. himself. In his 1985 re-election race, as Mr. Morgenthau faced an early challenge from the civil rights lawyer C. Vernon Mason, Mr. Trump gave $5,000 the campaigns second-largest contribution. In 2005, Mr. Trump hosted a fund-raiser for the D.A. at Trump Tower. In part, Mr. Trump agreed to host the event because a rumor had reached the D.A. that Mr. Trumps sons were raising funds for Leslie Crocker Snyder, Mr. Morgenthaus challenger.

The prosecutors who led Mr. Morgenthaus investigations division across the decades were, as of late, emphatic in their defense, explaining why the office never began a full-scale investigation of Mr. Trumps business: Why didnt Morgenthau do anything? Because there was nothing to do, said Michael Cherkasky, his investigations chief for six years. The assistants, like their former boss, blamed the political process. You have to raise money to run for D.A., said Mr. Cherkasky. You ask people for money, and you cant do anything in return for it. Theres no favors. Theres no nothing.

The P.A.L. was the beginning, but Mr. Trump gave his biggest check to the other charity Mr. Morgenthau chaired. In 2012, Mr. Trump gave $100,000 to the Museum of Jewish Heritage, only after the D.A. complained that Mr. Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner, a new museum board member and the scion of Kushner Companies, the family real estate company, had failed to make good on a promised donation. Mr. Morgenthau knew Mr. Kushner: He interned in the D.A.s office in 2004, the summer his father was arrested on federal charges. Nasty piece of work, the D.A. said of the younger Kushner: I had to kick him off the board.

LAST MONTH I returned to the D.A.s office to speak about Mr. Morgenthaus tenure and legacy. I told the prosecutors in the audience including those leading the investigation of the 45th president that from all Id learned about the D.A. and his relations with Mr. Trump, there was no mystery and no smoking gun. Their relationship made perfect sense.

Each saw opportunity in the other: The D.A., ever expedient in his drive to fund his favored causes, needed the checks, and the real estate man, ever eager to antagonize a business foe, sought an ally in law enforcement. The D.A. would not serve as a shield but more as a decoy for Mr. Trump, who could use his proximity to Mr. Morgenthaus power to enhance his own reputation. The D.A. had a blind spot when it came to Mr. Trump, one he would recognize years later. In his final years, Mr. Morgenthau witnessed a new blood lust demonization of immigrants and people of color, the rise of white supremacy and was taken aback. One morning in the spring before his death, I asked Mr. Morgenthau what his greatest fear was, and he did not hesitate to answer: Trump.

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Opinion | Donald Trumps History with Manhattan D.A. Office - The New York Times