Ron DeSantis duels the shadow of Donald Trump in Iowa swing

Florida governor edges closer to 2024 run, enraging an absent Trump

Ron DeSantis was in Iowa on Saturday and found himself in the spotlight thanks to a last-minute decision by former President Donald Trump to cancel his own rally in the state’s capital.

The Florida governor was in and around the city of Des Moines this weekend, just a few blocks away from where the former president was originally set to speak, chatting up supporters and schmoozing with local Republican groups — a clear as any indication of his plans to run for president in 2024 or in the future.

Mr DeSantis’s visit was once set to be challenged by the arrival of the former president, but Mr Trump cited severe weather across the midwest in a last-minute cancellation Saturday afternoon. That bad weather instead materialised in Oklahoma and Kansas while the Des Moines area got off easy — Mr DeSantis even joked about how nice it was outside during one appearance.

The Florida governor eschewed the massive rally his likely opponent favours while instead making a handful of smaller appearances, including according to media reports at a barbecue restaurant where he stood on a table and addressed potential voters.

Every aspect of the visit — from the govenor’s success at his various venues to the immediate speculation from Mr Trump’s critics about the reasoning for his cancellation, seemed perfectly crafted to infuriate the ex-president who has spent months attempting to goad Mr DeSantis into a mudslinging brawl.

Indeed, Mr Trump’s first message on Truth Social on Sunday after he wished his followers a unique Mother’s Day greeting was aimed at his newfound rival.

“Rob DeSanctimonious and his poll numbers are dropping like a rock - I would almost be inclined to say, these are record ’falls.’ The question: Is ’Rob’ just young, inexperienced and naive or, more troubling, is he a fool who has no idea what he is doing. We already have one of those in office, we don’t need another one. MAGA!” wrote the former president.

Polls have shown Mr Trump consolidating some support within the GOP since his indictment on 34 criminal counts last month by the Manhattan district attorney’s office. But Mr DeSantis remains competitive, and most polls indicate that a majority of Americans want someone other that Mr Trump and the Democratic contender, incumbent President Joe Biden, to run.

Mr Trump also continues to face questions about his continued refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election, as well as other legal challenges like the Fulton County probe into election interference in Georgia. His allies’ ties to those election fraud conspiracies were blamed for the poor performance of many Republican candidates in the 2022 midterm elections.

Mr DeSantis joined those critics of the former president’s continued vocal support for 2020 election conspiracies on Saturday in one of his most direct attacks targeting Mr Trump so far, telling one crowd: “If we make 2024 a referendum on Joe Biden and his failures and we provide a positive alternative for the future of this country, Republicans will win across the board. If we do not do that, if we get distracted, if we focus on the election in the past or on other side issues, then I think the Democrats are going to beat us again, and I think it will be very difficult to recover from that defeat.”