Former President Donald Trump wished opponent Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) “good luck” in his presidential bid after Scott launched his 2024 campaign Monday, but his ostensibly warm welcome came with a shot at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis—widely considered to be Trump’s top competitor for the Republican candidacy—by saying Scott is “a big step up” from DeSantis in a post on Truth Social.
In the same post Monday morning, Trump said DeSantis—whom he has nicknamed “Ron DeSanctimonious”—is “totally unelectable.”
DeSantis, who has not yet entered the race, polled 42 percentage points behind Trump in the latest Harvard CAPS-Harris poll from May 19; Scott had 1% support in that poll ahead of his announcement.
In welcoming Scott to the Republican primary, Trump said the two worked together on the “highly successful” Opportunity Zones, an initiative from 2017 that allowed governors to select economically distressed communities “ripe for investment” and tie them to a federal tax