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Trump's comments were made to Fox News host Sean Hannity in a
town hall in Clive, Iowa. Hannity is one of Trump's strongest
media allies, and he set him up to blast opponents including
DeSantis, who he predicted would slip further in the polls.
"You know, I really go after the one who is second and I think
the one who is second has gone down so much and so rapidly that
I don't think he's going to be second that much longer. I think
he's going to be third or fourth," Trump said.
Earlier on Thursday, DeSantis and Trump had exchanged insults
over their plans to right the economy and reform government
bureaucracy, with the Florida governor criticizing Trump for not
getting the job done during his time in the White House.
"Why didn't he do it in his first four years?" DeSantis quipped
to reporters during a campaign event in New Hampshire.
DeSantis argued that it was better for voters to elect someone
who could serve two terms - or eight years in office - because
that is how long it would take to successfully finish a task
that was not fully defined by either candidate.
"If he needs eight years don't vote for him. I'll have that this
country hopping in six months," Trump, who can only serve one
more term, sniped back.
During the Fox News town hall, Trump was asked about what he
made of the growing Republican field, including former vice
president Mike Pence and former New Jersey governor Chris
Christie who are both expected to enter the race next week.
"I don't know why people are doing it. They're at 1%. Some are
at zero," he said, referring to candidates with low poll
numbers.
Remarking on former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, Trump
said: "nobody knows who the hell he is."
(reporting by Nathan Layne, Timothy Reid and Eric Beech; Editing
by Lincoln Feast.)
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