During The Mary Trump Show podcast, she was asked by one of her listeners who she thinks her uncle would vote for in Florida’s gubernatorial election in this year’s midterm elections. Trump said her uncle “definitely” will not vote for Democratic candidate Charlie Crist, the former Florida governor who is running against the incumbent Desandes. “But I also know he hates Ron DeSantis. So I wouldn’t be surprised if Donald didn’t vote for anybody. Because, you know, he’s a baby,” she added. Above, former President Donald Trump arrives during a campaign event on Nov. 3 in Sioux City, Iowa. Mary Trump, the niece of former President Donald Trump and one of his fiercest critics, said Friday that her uncle “hates” Republican Ron DeSandis. Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images DeSantis still maintains a lead in polls over Crist, including the latest aggregate polling results from FiveThirtyEight on Friday, which showed the Republican leading with 53 percent of voter support compared to 42.5 percent for his Democratic challenger. The Florida governor had a similar lead on Tuesday, according to the FiveThirtyEight database, but Crist’s current rating is down from 42.9 percent support that day. DeSantis had a 14-point lead in another poll from the University of North Florida, which had just over 600 respondents. Trump recently announced he will hold a rally in Florida on Sunday to support GOP Sen. Marco Rubio, who is running against Democrat Val Demings. However, DeSantis, once considered a close Trump ally, will not be in attendance. The Florida governor was not even aware of the fact, according to Politico. A person close to him told the news outlet that Trump’s rally for Rubio is like “an elbow to Ron’s throat.” Questions about their once-close ties come in light of continued speculation that both are considering running for president in 2024 as the GOP nomination. Michael Binder, a political science professor at the University of North Florida, told Newsweek that Trump may have felt “betrayed” that DeSandis now appears to be distancing himself from the former president in the face of a potential challenge to lead the Republican Party. “It’s very clear that these two don’t have a good personal relationship, and while a lot of politics is transactional, personal relationships matter,” Binder said last week. “Trump probably feels betrayed by a candidate he feels isn’t grateful enough for his 2018 support. DeSantis doesn’t feel a lifetime of debt is required for a single endorsement. And, both know that each of them is the biggest threat to the GOP Nomination.” Earlier this year, the former president called reports of tensions between him and DeSantis “fake news.” Newsweek has reached out to the media offices of Donald Trump and DeSandis for comment.
