#Trump claims he’s under ‘total assault’ because of his lead in the polls

Former President Trump claimed on Friday that he is under “total assault” because of his lead in the polls among current and potential GOP presidential candidates.

“[We’re under] total assault because we’re winning in the polls,” Trump told his former advisor Steve Bannon during an interview on “War Room.”

Trump also took aim at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who is widely considered his biggest competition for the 2024 Republican nomination, despite having yet to officially join the race.

“DeSanctis is failing badly,” Trump said, in a reference to his nickname for the Florida governor, “Ron DeSanctimonious.”

“It’s amazing what being 40 down does,” he later added.

Trump has slightly expanded his lead over DeSantis in recent weeks, sitting about 27 points ahead as of Thursday, according to a polling average from FiveThirtyEight. An Emerson College poll conducted earlier this week showed the former president with a 45-point lead over DeSantis.

“The donors are largely leaving him now,” Trump claimed, adding, “What’s happening is the donors are calling me now because the donors follow the polls.”

While several reports emerged this week that DeSantis was considering a May or June launch for his campaign, he said on Thursday that no decisions have been made about a potential announcement.

“If there’s any announcements, those will come at the appropriate time,” DeSantis said at a press conference in Israel. “But if anyone’s telling you that somehow they know this or they know that, that’s just inaccurate because there’s not been any decisions made.”