Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is taking a swipe at political rival and former President Donald Trump, who couldn't let the jab go quietly.
DeSantis on Monday broke his silence on Trump's anticipated indictment over an alleged hush-money payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels.
Without naming the former president, the governor said that he personally would not know how to pay "hush money" to a "porn star."
"I don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair," DeSantis said during a news conference in Panama City, per CNN. "I just, I can't speak to that."
"I've got real issues to deal with here in the state of Florida," he added.
Trump then fired back with a reminder of allegations that DeSantis drank with underage girls when he taught a boarding school in Georgia.
"Ron DeSanctimonious will probably find out about FALSE ACCUSATIONS & FAKE STORIES sometime in the future, as he gets older, wiser, and better known, when he's unfairly and illegally attacked by a woman, even classmates that are 'underage' (or possibly a man!)," Trump wrote on his Truth Social account. "I'm sure he will want to fight these misfits just like I do!"
DeSantis also suggested that Trump's prosecution is politically motivated, calling it a "manufactured circus."
"If you have a prosecutor who is ignoring crimes happening every single day in his jurisdiction, and he chooses to go back many, many years ago to try to use something about porn star hush money payments, you know, that's an example of pursuing a political agenda and weaponizing the office, and I think that that’s fundamentally wrong," DeSantis said, per CNN.
The case against Trump dates back to the 2016 election. The Manhattan District Attorney's office has been investigating the former president related to an alleged $130,000 hush-money payment made to Daniels, who allegedly had sex with Trump when she was 27 and he was 60, while he was married to his current wife, Melania Trump. Prosecutors have been looking into whether Trump falsified Trump Organization business records – particularly in regards to payment of former attorney Michael Cohen, who said he advanced Daniels money, per CBS News.
Trump posted on Truth Social Saturday that he expects to be arrested as soon as Tuesday, though his lawyers said he had no communications from prosecutors. He also incited supporters to rally on his behalf, saying "Protest, take our nation back," and "We must save America! Protest, protest protest."
A security meeting was held Monday in New York City as law enforcement continues to prepare for a potential indictment and any planned or unplanned demonstrations.
If Trump is indicted, it would be the first time in American history a former president was charged with a serious crime.
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