Ron DeSantis sharpens his attacks on Donald Trump in their shared home state of Florida

By MICHELLE L. PRICE and CURT ANDERSON
Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis is turning up the heat on frontrunner Donald Trump and defending his own trailing campaign, warning that the former president will deliver the 2024 election to Democrats because he energizes his critics. DeSantis said at a campaign event in Tampa, Florida on Thursday that he believed in the 2020 election that Trump lost not because more people voted for Democrat Joe Biden, but because they were voting against Trump. The Florida governor has been sharpening his critiques of Trump, a former ally, over the past few months as he’s sought to revitalize his campaign. Most notably, he used his first opening on the GOP debate stage last week to criticize the former president for skipping the event.