Republican frenemies Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump are fighting again, this time over a conservative satirical news site that serves (or tries to) as the conservative answer The Onion.
Trump, who some day might be running his presidential campaign from the inside of a jail cell, is reportedly fuming over his rival’s budding relationship with The Babylon Bee and its CEO, Seth Dillon. That’s right, a fake news site obsessed with boycotting Target that thinks headlines like “Bible Experts Determine Goliath Died of COVID” and “Female Scientists Still Unable To Make Sense Of Strange Lever That Makes Car Lights Blink” serve as comedy is now the shiny toy these tyrading grown toddlers are arguing over.
According to a Rolling Stone report, Trump, who began a relationship with The Babylon Bee after mistaking their stories as factual and retweeting them to his followers on social media, is pissed that Dillon is pals with DeSantis and DeSantis supporter, Elon Musk. The friendship between Trump and the Bee has further soured over a recent reveal that DeSantis’ team paid the site for its speechwriting services. In February, far-right Trump-lover Laura Loomer confronted Dillon via text over a payment made by the Friends of Ron DeSantis PAC to the Bee for $21,500. Dillon explained that the site helped DeSantis punch up his public speaking routine in order to “fight Democrats.”
“You could consider us speech writing consultants,” Dillon wrote. “We help him find funny angles on Democrats. We don’t attack Trump for him. That’s silly and false. They have never suggested that we write anything about Trump.”
Now, we understand why a human AI with a hyena cackle like DeSantis would need some assistance in the charm department. The guy has a proven track record for appearing downright awkward in public. But Trump was satisfied by Dillon’s explanation so, naturally, he took to his Truth Social account to air his grievances with one of the few “news” sites he actually reads:
“You don’t spend that much money on The Babylon Bee if you’re running for Governor, in fact, you don’t spend money on The Babylon Bee if you’re running for anything!”
The Bee is just the latest right-wing influencer the former bros are battling over. Plenty of one-time Trump supporters are now flocking to DeSantis as he seems less problematic — in their eyes, anyway — and less likely to be convicted of a felony before the 2024 Presidential Election takes place. There are also rumors he’s offered money, policy influence, and full-time jobs to MAGA mascots willing to switch teams. Those sticking with Trump think DeSantis doesn’t have what it takes to smack-talk on a national level.
And the rest of us, we’re are having a grand ole time sitting back and watching these two catty dudes duke it out.
(Via Rolling Stone)