Trump did an impression of DeSantis ‘begging’ – and his own supporters fell silent

Donald Trump can basically do nothing wrong in the eyes of his loyal supporters except, it turns out, impressions of his closest rival.

The MAGA commander-in-chief tore into Ron DeSantis during a Texas rally on Saturday. And rather than roar with laughter or hoot with delight, as is their custom, the crowds responded with silence.

Trump, 76, boasted to the Waco throng about how DeSantis, 44, asked him to endorse his 2018 race for the governorship of Florida, claiming that the fellow Republican came to him “with tears in his eyes”.

“He’s at almost nothing in the polls, he’s got no cash, and I say to him, I can’t give you an endorsement, there’s no way you can win,” the ex-president recounted.

Then, putting on a desperate, pleading voice, he mimicked DeSantis saying: “Sir, if you endorse me I’ll win, please. Please, sir, endorse me.”

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He continued: “So what happened is, I said, ‘Let’s give it a shot, Ron’. And I endorsed him and he became like a rocket ship. Within one day, the race was over, he got the nomination.”

You could almost hear the tumbleweed skipping down the streets.

Indeed, the muted response from Trump’s usually raucous fans extended to Trump’s criticism of DeSantis’s record on social security and medicare. Clearly, even his loyalists have a soft spot for the presidential hopeful.

It also became clear that Trump feels backstabbed by his alleged former protege, as he noted that two years after DeSantis became governor of the sunshine state, “the fake news” asked if he would run for president, to which he replied: “I have no comment”.

“I say, that’s not supposed to happen,” Trump complained, suggesting DeSantis should have remained fiercely loyal to him rather than run against him, as is expected.

Still, recent polling suggests the 76-year-old doesn’t have too much to worry about when it comes to his new nemesis.

A survey released by New Jersey’s Monmouth University last week showed that, in December, 26 per cent of Republican voters wanted Trump as their candidate compared to 39 per cent for DeSantis.

However, in polling conducted between 16 and 20 March, Trump’s support shot up to 41 per cent while DeSantis’s dropped to 27.

And yet, fans of the Florida governor remain optimistic. He isn’t expected to launch his White House bid for at least two more months, and the first presidential primary contest is roughly 10 months away, so they have time to get those crowds chanting his name.

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