Ron DeSantis hasn’t formally announced he’s running for president yet, but most people expect he will. One of them is Donald Trump. He’s been trashing anybody who’s even thinking of running against him in 2024, but he’s singled out the governor of the state he now calls home. On Tuesday, he stepped up his attacks by sharing a photo of him allegedly doing something Republicans have made a favorite object of demonization.
Trump going heavy on the “DeSantis is a pedophile” stuff today. pic.twitter.com/LS2zRpke3z
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) February 7, 2023
As caught by The Daily Mail, the former president took to his rinky-dink Twitter clone to re-post (or “re-Truth”) someone who shared a photo purportedly showing him when he was a high school teacher in Georgia. The image finds the early 20s future governor of Florida — and champion of the GOP’s “grooming” attacks — boozing it up with three young women.
“That’s not Ron, is it? He would never do such a thing!” Trump wrote in one of two posts in which he shared the picture.
The Truth Social user who originally shared the image wrote claimed that the picture shows that DeSantis “was having a “drink” party with his students when he was a high school teacher.” He added, “Having drinks with underage girls and cuddling with them certainly look pretty gross and ephebophiliaesque.” (For those not in the know, ephebophilia is an archaic term used to describe older people attracted to teens between 15 and 19.)
The image has been around for some time. One progressive Twitter account shared it back in 2021. The age of the three girls, whose faces are blurred to protect their privacy, is not known. They very well could be his age.
What is clear is that by sharing unverified and possibly fictitious “dirt” on his likely presidential opponent, Trump is going next level with his DeSantis attacks. Is DeSantis ready for Trump to get Trump-level nasty? Possibly not. Fasten your seatbelts. It’s gonna be a bumpy next year and a half.
(Via The Daily Mail)