DeSantis tells US voters to ‘chill out’ in probe on brewing ‘civil war

Ron DeSantis rejected a reporter’s question about a “brewing civil war” in the Republican Party after the Florida Governor emerged as an alternative to Donald Trump in 2024. Mr Trump’s influence on the party appears to be fading as senior Republican politicians have turned against the former President, blaming him for their poor results in the midterm elections. After winning a landslide victory in his state of Florida, Governor DeSantis’ rise among Republican ranks could prove fatal to Mr Trump’s bid to retake the White House.Asked about the “brewing civil war” within the Republican Party ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Ron DeSantis said: “Now, look I think we just finished this election, okay? “People just need to chill out a little bit on some of this stuff. I mean seriously, we just ran an election.”Republican partisans in the crowd cheered him and applauded as the Florida Governor defended his party after a heated race to gain control of the House and the Senate.Republican tensions have spilled over into public view after Donald Trump threatened Ron DeSantis against running in the 2024 presidential election. Speaking on Fox News, the former President said Mr DeSantis “could really hurt himself” if he decided to run. The GOP party failed to retake the Senate despite polls predicting a landslide Republican victory, with some political pundits forecasting a “red tsunami”. But Trump’s influence over the party’s electoral base appears to have waned after most of his sponsored candidates lost their races for the Senate and the House. Ron DeSantis tells US voters to ‘chill out’ amid brewing Republican civil war (Image: TWITTER/@therecount) Ron DeSantis could be Trump’s main opponent in the 2024 presidential election (Image: TWITTER/@therecount)Several senior Republican politicians are turning their back on Mr Trump, most suggesting he could be a political liability for the party in the looming 2024 presidential election.Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis said the new leader of the Republican is Ron DeSantis citing the Florida governor’s landslide reelection win: “Ron DeSantis is the leader of the Republican Party, whether he wants to be or not.”Senior Republican and long-time critic of Donald Trump, Adam Kinzinger, called on his fellow Republicans to oppose his bid for the presidency, warning he will rise to power through abuse and intimidation like he did in 2016. Mick Mulvaney, who served as Mr Trump’s chief of staff from January 2019 to March 2020, told CNN he thinks “he’s the only Republican who could lose” the next US presidential election. READ MORE: Trump speech’s sees him ‘meaner and desperate for fans’ Ron DeSantis won a landslide victory in Florida (Image: YOUTUBE/@BBCNews) Donald Trump has announced his bid to run for election in 2024 (Image: YOUTUBE/@SKYNEWS)On the media front, the former President has also taken a few hits.Rupert Murdoch has reportedly warned Donald Trump his media empire, which includes right-leaning Fox News, his flagship paper the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post, will not back any attempt to return to the White House. American tabloid New York Post barely even mention Mr Trump’s return by including a thin blue banner at the bottom of its front page teasing that “Florida Man Makes Announcement” – all the way back on page 26. The page showed a little text box containing the story of Trump’s announcement.And Twitter’s new boss Elon Musk has so far failed to bring Mr Trump on the platform after its board decided to permanently suspend due to the risk of further incitement of violence in January following the storming of the US Capitol.DON’T MISS:Donald Trump faces rocky start as Republican pulls rug from under bid [REPORT]      Trump’s ‘alpha move’ labelled risk as donors wait for DeSantis [REPORT]      Trump officially launches 2024 White House bid despite midterm setback  [REPORT]       Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy have faced challenges to their respective bids (Image: GETTY)Donald Trump now faces the prospect of Ron DeSantis potentially getting on his way to retake the White House. According to early conservative polls, the Florida Governor is leading the former President among Republicans in key primary races. However, political scientists say the former President still has a considerably large electoral base and still has 14 months to make his case before the Republicans choose their candidate for the 2024 presidential election.In another sign of cracks inside the GOP, the battles for the leadership of both the House and the Senate have also broken out into public view. Republican heavyweights Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy have faced challenges to their respective re-election bids.While Mitch McConnell crushed his opponent in a contest for Senate Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy has won his party’s nomination to be the speaker in the House of Representatives.READ NEXT:Donald Trump’s battle with Desantis ‘going to get ugly’ Ron Desantis: Donald Trump’s major Republican rival Donald Trump’s 2024 chances ‘hurt’ by mid-term Republican red rippleTrump blames Mitch McConnell for Republican midterm performance’Had low approvals’: Trump fires shot at rival Ron DeSantis