Trump Junior hugs his father, Donald Trump. Next to him is his wife Vanessa.
Photo: Mike Segar/ REUTERS
Has the subconscious gained the upper hand? In an online show, Donald Trump Jr., son of the former US president, apparently confused his father with his rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Ron DeSantis. As reported by The Guardian, Trump Jr. inadvertently insulted his father on Thursday, saying that his energy "makes Jeb Bush look like an Olympian."
"Trump has the charisma of a mortician and an energy that makes Jeb Bush look like an Olympian," Trump Jr. said in his online format "Triggered With Don Jr." on the video platform Rumble.
Jeb Bush is a former governor of Florida and was the favorite of the party establishment when Trump Sr. won the Republican primaries in 2016. DeSantis, currently governor of Florida, had made his campaign for 2024 official on Wednesday with a mishap-ridden launch on Twitter.
After the faux pas, Trump Jr. was silent for a moment. After a short pause and without correcting himself, Trump continued: "The politics of a D.C. swamp rat, because we've seen ... the flip-flops, right?"
Trump Jr. also criticized DeSantis for the "hashtag DeSaster" of his campaign launch with Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, and David Sacks, a Republican donor, which he said showed that he needed "two charismatic billionaires" to help DeSantis. DeSantis, Trump Jr. added, has a "kind of nasal and effeminate voice."
As governor of Florida, DeSantis has attracted attention above all with his right-wing policies. Under him, laws were passed or introduced in the state that discriminate against minorities, curtail academic freedom at universities or intervene in public education with teaching bans.
The Republican, like Trump, belongs to the right wing of the party and shares similar positions. However, DeSantis is considered disciplined, sorted and thoughtful. For those in the party and at the grassroots who have had enough of Trump's escapades but want a candidate with similar content, DeSantis is seen as an alternative. Recently, however, Trump's approval ratings at the base of his own party have risen again.
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