​Former President Donald Trump swung left in his latest bizarre attack on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, on Tuesday accusing him of wanting to cut Social Security and Medicare and calling him a “wheelchair over the cliff kind of guy” in an all-caps blast.
​Trump, 76, who announced Nov. 15 that he was seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and is expected to face his most significant primary challenge from DeSantis, initially touted his poll numbers showing him leading the 44-year-old governor before cribbing from Democratic attack ads of the past.
“Great Poll numbers are springing forth for your favorite President, me, against Ron DeSanctus (& Biden). I guess people are finding out that he wanted to CUT SOCIAL SECURITY & RAISE THE MINIMUM AGE TO AT LEAST 70, at least 4 times. LIKEWISE WITH MEDICARE, WANTED BIG CUTS,” the 45th president posted on his Truth Social account.
“HE IS A WHEELCHAIR OVER THE CLIFF KIND OF GUY, JUST LIKE HIS HERO, failed politician Paul Ryan, the FoxNews ratings destroyer who led Mitt Romney’s Presidential Campaign down the tubes. GLOBALIST’S [sic] ALL! WE WANT AMERICA FIRST!!!” Trump added. ​
Trump appeared to be referencing a notorious Democratic campaign email from the 2002 midterm elections that featured a cartoon of then-President George W. Bush pushing a grandmother in a wheelchair over a cliff — in an attempt at humorous criticism of Bush’s Social Security reform plans.
DeSantis, coming off a legislative win over Disney in Florida after the entertainment giant lobbied against his Parental Rights in Education law — dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” act by critics — is looking more and more like a presidential contender.
His new book, “The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival,” shot to No. 1 on Amazon’s best-seller list after hitting bookshelves Tuesday, and the governor is preparing to embark on a tour of several early primary states in the coming weeks — including Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, the New York Times reported.Â
Trump has rolled out the Democratic talking point to troll DeSantis before.
“​Ron DeSanctimonious wants to cut your Social Security and Medicare, closed up Florida & its beaches, loves RINOS Paul Ryan, Jeb Bush, and Karl Rove (disasters ALL!), is backed by Globalist’s Club for NO Growth, Lincoln Pervert Project, & ​’​Uninspired​’​ Koch — And it only gets worse from there​,” he said on Truth Social on Feb. 18.
“He is a RINO in disguise!, whose Poll numbers are dropping like a rock. Good luck Ron!​,” he said.
President Biden, 80, got into a tussle with Republicans during his State of the Union address earlier this month when he accused GOP lawmakers of wanting to slice Social Security and Medicare despite House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) insisting that such cuts were off the table.