DeSantis Launches Website Targeting GOP Rival

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis escalated his attacks on one of his 2024 GOP rivals with a website presenting itself as an exposé.

The website, “The Real Nikki Haley” alleges the former South Carolina governor is “pro-Hillary Clinton,” “pro-China and cozy with the Chinese Communist Party,” “anti-free speech,” among various other accusations.

“Nikki Haley is not the conservative she pretends to be, so the Ron DeSantis for President campaign is launching a new microsite today shining a light on the real Nikki Haley.” DeSantis’ campaign said in a press release about the site’s launch. “The site will allow Republican primary voters to see for themselves that Haley has supported every liberal cause under the sun.”

With South Carolina Senator Tim Scott dropping out of the race and his supporters appearing to split between the two, DeSantis and Haley are both stepping up their effort to outcompete each other ahead of the Iowa caucus in January.

Last week, DeSantis went after Haley for calling social media anonymity a “national security threat” and suggesting identity verification for all users.

“You know who were anonymous writers back in the day? Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison when they wrote the Federalist Papers,” DeSantis wrote in a post on X.

“They were not ‘national security threats,’ nor are the many conservative Americans across the country who exercise their Constitutional right to voice their opinions without fear of being harassed or canceled by the school they go to or the company they work for.”

A spokesperson for the Haley campaign followed up, saying, “Americans have a right to free speech, including having anonymous accounts on social media. What Nikki doesn’t support is letting the Chinese and Iranians create anonymous accounts to spread chaos and anti-American filth among our people.”

“Clearly, Ron DeSantis wants to let Chinese propaganda machines run wild on social media without any restrictions,” the spokesperson added.