Trump attacks DeSantis, compares him to Democrat Mike Dukakis

Former President Donald Trump launched a new attack on Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday by dubbing him "Ron Dukakis," in a reference to failed Democratic presidential candidate Mike Dukakis.

"Ron Dukakis ..." Trump wrote in a Truth Social post early Monday morning with a video of Fox News host Steve Hilton using the insult on his show, "The Next Revolution."

"Just like the hapless Democrat presidential nominee in 1988, DeSantis managed to look weak and incompetent all in one go," Hilton said in the clip as a side-by-side photo of Dukakis and DeSantis appeared featuring both men in helmets for photo ops.

Hilton criticized DeSantis on his show over the weekend after the governor earlier this month described the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a "territorial dispute," before clarifying last week that his use of the phrase was "mischaracterized" and that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a "war criminal."

Trump also criticized DeSantis on Sunday in another Truth Social post. 

"Ron DeSanctimonious is being CRUSHED in the polls, all of them," he wrote. "Many GLOBALISTS are having second thoughts. ... They have rarely witnessed a CRATERING of this magunitude. Maybe they should have told Ron that trying to destroy Social Security and Medicare, three times, is not a good tning to do. ALSO, his record on the China Virus, Crime, and Education is, despite his ever spinning P.R. Machine, ABYSMAL!!!"

Trump has repeatedly criticized DeSantis since November amid rumors that the governor is planning to run against Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.