The fight for the US presidency is getting rougher: his fiercest competitor attacks Trump for congratulating Kim Jong Un
Ron DeSantis has slammed Donald Trump for congratulating North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un on a seat on the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO). DeSantis is the youngest Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election and is considered Trump’s biggest challenger.
In a post on Truth Social, former US President Donald Trump praised Kim Jong Un for giving North Korea a seat on the Executive Board of the World Health Organization. In the post, he linked to an article critical of the WHO’s seat, but ignored the criticism and instead praised Kim, whom he described as a friend.
“That surprised me,” Ron DeSantis told reporters in Iowa on Saturday, according to the Daily News, when asked about the article. The Florida governor called Kim a “homicidal dictator” and criticized the World Health Organization.
“The World Health Organization is a bankrupt organization,” lamented the 44-year-old. DeSantis continued, “We should distance ourselves from her and reject the WHO containment treaty, rather than rejoice in WHO involvement,” he added.
Continuing his admiration for the authoritarian leader, Trump wrote on his social media platform: “Congratulations to Kim Jung Un.” The 76-year-old is considered the clear favorite for the 2024 Republican primary. DeSantis is in the polls by at least 20 percentage points residue in second place.
DeSantis begins attacking Trump
DeSantis had avoided directly criticizing the former president until the official start of the campaign two weeks ago. But now he is attacking Trump for the first time, claiming that he was not effective enough during his tenure. On Truth Social, Trump spends a lot of time railing against DeSantis, calling him “Rob DeSanctimonious” and making baseless allegations against the Florida governor.
DeSantis wasn’t the only one to criticize Trump for his words of praise for Kim. Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence and his former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, who is also running for the 2024 presidential election, also criticized the ex-president.
“This is a time when we should let the world know that we are for freedom and that we stand in solidarity with those who are for freedom,” said Pence, who plans to announce his presidential candidacy in the coming weeks. “You don’t congratulate a bad guy,” Haley told Fox News. “I think we should remember that this villain threatened America. He has repeatedly threatened our allies. That’s not something to play with.”
