Former President Donald Trump on Monday accused Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) of wearing hidden heels as he continues to take jabs at his top 2024 primary opponent.
A theory that DeSantis is trying to make himself appear taller via hidden heeled inserts began circulating online last week, with social media users zooming in on the governor’s boots to show scrunching that could indicate his foot is pushed upward.
Trump’s post promoted one of the more widely shared images from the discourse, which offers a yellow outline of where DeSantis’ foot and leg may actually be inside his boot.
“Tell me he’s not wearing hidden heels,” reads the text overlay.
Trump took another shot at DeSantis on Tuesday morning, saying that he “has the Poll numbers of a wounded bird falling from the sky.”
“I am up on him by 57 points, and going higher. He has proven to be a terrible and inept candidate who even fought Social Security and MediCare,” Trump continued. “He will SOON be out of money and dropping out of the race for President. After having single handidly gotten him elected Governor, with no thanks or glory, it has been a beautiful thing to watch. Good luck Ron!”
The pair of posts are just another example of how much the pair’s relationship has soured since Trump’s endorsement of DeSantis for governor in 2018, which many believe put him over the top in a tight race.
Since announcing his entrance to the 2024 presidential field, DeSantis has remained Trump’s top opponent overall, though recent polls have shown him losing ground.
According to a RealClearPolitics average of recent national Republican primary polls, Trump holds a commanding lead at 57.4%, followed by DeSantis at 12.6% and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley at 7.2%.
The 44.8-point gap between Trump and DeSantis marks a significant widening as candidates like Haley have gained in the polls. In mid-April, the gap between Trump and DeSantis sat at about 29 points on average.
DeSantis has previously dismissed the “narrative that somehow the race is over” because of what polls have shown.
“This is going to be a state-by-state contest,” he said in July. “We’ve worked really hard to build the type of organization in places like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina that you need to actually be able to win these early [nominating] contests. And we’re gonna continue doing that. We got a lot of work, but we’ve had a very, very favorable response.”
