<p>Former&nbsp;<a class="gtmContentClick" href="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" _mce_href="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" target="_self">President Trump</a>&nbsp;on Thursday released a&nbsp;<a class="gtmContentClick" href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/109322017568994719" _mce_href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/109322017568994719" target="_blank">long statement</a>&nbsp;deriding his relationship with Gov.&nbsp;<a class="gtmContentClick" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/09/ron-desantis-florida-governor-election-results" _mce_href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/09/ron-desantis-florida-governor-election-results" target="_self">Ron DeSantis</a>, after the Florida Republican easily held onto his seat during a midterm election cycle that delivered a series of losses for Trump-endorsed candidates in pivotal races.</p> <p><strong>Why it matters:</strong>&nbsp;The&nbsp;<a class="gtmContentClick" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/09/trump-midterm-election-2022" _mce_href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/09/trump-midterm-election-2022" target="_self">underperformance of Trump-backed candidates</a>&nbsp;in the midterms — set against DeSantis'&nbsp;<a class="gtmContentClick" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/09/desantis-presidential-run-2024-trump" _mce_href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/09/desantis-presidential-run-2024-trump" target="_self">dominant re-election in Florida</a>&nbsp;— has triggered an&nbsp;<a class="gtmContentClick" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/10/trump-2024-presidential-campaign-republicans-desantis-midterms" _mce_href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/10/trump-2024-presidential-campaign-republicans-desantis-midterms" target="_self">internal reckoning</a>&nbsp;within the GOP over who is best positioned to lead the party into 2024.</p> <p><strong>Details:&nbsp;</strong>The former president<strong>&nbsp;</strong>branded his potential 2024 rival as an "average" Republican who owes his political success to Trump's endorsement in the 2018 governor's race. He also lashed out at DeSantis' responses to questions about his own 2024 ambitions.</p> <ul> <li><strong></strong>"The Fake News asks him if he’s going to run if President Trump runs, and he says, 'I’m only focused on the Governor’s race, I’m not looking into the future,'" Trump said in the statement. "Well, in terms of loyalty and class, that’s really not the right answer."</li> </ul> <p><strong>Between the lines:</strong>&nbsp;Trump has jabbed at DeSantis a few times as he's grown in popularity, but this is the clearest sign yet that the former president is prepared to declare war against any Republican seeking to usurp him — even at the cost of destroying the party.</p>