In the Free State of Florida, Ron DeSantis believes people have the right to protest a potential indictment of Donald Trump.
Or not to protest, if that's their preference.
"I think that's up to individuals," the Governor said Thursday night during an interview on Newsmax.
"I mean, the one thing I will say that we've seen just in recent history, if you're in a really deep blue jurisdiction like Washington DC, perhaps Manhattan, you know, and you're somebody that's kind of on our side of the fence politically, you're going to be treated more harshly than people that are on the other side politically," DeSantis told host Eric Bolling.
"I think that there's a separate standard of justice and so people should just be mindful that it's sad that you have to say it. But I absolutely think that that's been proven to be the case over these last many years."
The non-answer likely won't satisfy Team Trump, of course, but it tracks with comments he made earlier this week.
In Panama City Monday, DeSantis struck a balance between condemning the expected indictment by District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a "George Soros prosecutor," as spurious and political, while finding a way to drag Trump for "porn star hush money" allegedly paid to Stormy Daniels years ago.
"I've seen rumors swirl, I have not seen any facts yet. And so I don't know what's going to happen. But I do know this: the Manhattan District Attorney is a Soros-funded prosecutor. And so he, like other Soros-funded prosecutors, they weaponize their office to impose a political agenda on society at the expense of the rule of law and public safety," DeSantis contended, before eventually shivving Trump as well.
"You're talking about this situation, and like, I don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair. I just can't speak to that," DeSantis said, before pivoting back to Bragg's backing by Soros.
After the Panama City comments, both Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. laid into Gov. Ron DeSantis for his comments on the former President's legal woes, which were then rumored to be leading to an indictment at Mar-a-Lago later this week, which does not now appear to be the case.
On Truth Social, the former President pilloried the Florida Governor, casting aspersions on his heterosexuality in the process.
"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!). I'm sure he will want to fight these misfits just like I do!"
Trump's comments were atop a post where he rebooted a scurrilous story about the Governor drinking with prep school students when he was a teacher decades ago. When compelled to comment last month, DeSantis acknowledged that while the media wanted "the controversy," he was nonetheless more focused on the fight with Joe Biden than with the former President.
Trump Jr. had his say as well in the wake of DeSantis downplaying the former President's expected indictment.
"So DeSantis thinks that Dems weaponizing the law to indict President Trump is a 'manufactured circus' & isn't a 'real issue,'" Trump Jr. tweeted. "Pure weakness. Now we know why he was silent all weekend. He's totally owned by Karl Rove, Paul Ryan & his billionaire donors. 100% Controlled Opposition."
