Trump news – live: Whistleblower says Trump wanted Chrissy Teigen tweet removed as DeSantis responds to attack
A whistleblower has revealed that Donald Trump asked Twitter to take down a tweet from Chrissy Teigen because he felt it was “derogatory” towards him.
In 2019, Mr Trump had tweeted about the model and TV personality, calling her the “filthy-mouthed wife” of her husband John Legend.
Teigen famously responded calling the then-president a “pussy a** b****.”
During testimony at a House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Wednesday, former Twitter employee Anika Navaroli said that the Trump White House had contacted the social media platform requesting Teigen’s post be removed.
The revelation came the same day that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis responded to Mr Trump’s attempt to amplify a baseless claim suggesting he had “groomed” underage girls decades ago when he was a high school teacher.
On Tuesday, Mr Trump shared a low-quality photo of a man resembling Mr DeSantis standing with a group of young women with blurred faces, one of whom appears to be holding a beer bottle.
On Wednesday, Mr DeSantis told reporters he’s too busy “delivering results” to respond to “defamatory stuff”. “I don’t spend my time trying to smear other Republicans,” he said.
Key Points
Ex-Twitter staff say Trump White House attempted to get Chrissy Teigen post removed
DeSantis responds to Trump’s ‘defamatory claims'
Trump amplifies baseless claim about DeSantis
Former Fox News host blasts Huckabee Sanders for not mentioning Trump
Trump claims ‘millions and millions’ followed his SOTU commentary
Whistleblower says Trump asked Twitter to remove Chrissy Teigen’s tweet about him
10:58 , Rachel Sharp
A whistleblower has revealed that Donald Trump asked Twitter to take down a tweet from Chrissy Teigen because he felt it was “derogatory” towards him.
In 2019, Mr Trump had tweeted about the model and TV personality, calling her the “filthy-mouthed wife” of her husband John Legend.
Teigen famously responded calling the then-president a “pussy a** b****.”
During testimony at a House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Wednesday, former Twitter employee Anika Navaroli said that the Trump White House had contacted the social media platform requesting Teigen’s post be removed.
“In that particular instance, I do remember hearing that we had received a request from the White House to make sure that we evaluated this tweet and that they wanted it to come down because it was a derogatory statement directed toward the president,” she said.
The revelation came as the House committee kicked off its hearings into Twitter’s role in restricting access to a New York Post story on Hunter Biden’s laptop – something Mr Trump and other Republicans have slammed as censorship.
The testimony indicated that the Trump White House actually engaged in efforts at censorship.
AOC condemns ‘incitement of violence’ against trans people during GOP-led hearing on Twitter
10:00 , Alex Woodward
Democratic US Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticised Twitter for its refusal to permanently suspend an influential account linked to anti-LGBT+ smears and threats of violence, including bomb threats at children’s hospitals.
During a House Oversight Committee hearing on 8 February, the New York congresswoman questioned former executives at the social media platform why “Libs of TikTok” was allowed to falsely suggest that Boston Children’s Hospital was performing hysterectomies on transgender children, claims that allegedly fuelled threats and harassment towards the hospital and its staff.
Ms Ocasio-Cortez asked Twitter’s former head of safety Yoel Roth why the account was not suspended “despite inspiring a bomb threat due to the right-wing incitement of violence against trans Americans.” Mr Roth said that “regrettably” the account remained active.
Read more:
AOC condemns anti-trans ‘incitement of violence’ during GOP-led hearing on Twitter
Trump predictably tries to make Biden’s State of the Union all about himself
09:00 , John Bowden
Donald Trump was very active on Tuesday as his 2020 rival Joe Biden delivered his second State of the Union speech from Capitol Hill.
The former president (and current 2024 candidate) attempted to capture headlines and public attention with a long thread of live commentary meant to accompany his political foe’s address. Few saw it, however, as the former president remains inactive on Twitter after being unbanned by Elon Musk.
“Having a hard time getting the words out, even though the Fake News will credit him with one of the Great Speeches of all time. I really want to see him improve. Come one Joe, you can do it!” he wrote in one Truth Social post.
But that was far from the extent of the ex-president’s attempts to hug the spotlight on Tuesday. While Mr Biden spoke, his 2024 campaign released a flurry of press releases — eight in total — touting various accomplishments and goings-on of the Trump presidency.
Mr Trump also attacked Mr Biden and his campaign for supposedly coordinating with social media companies to censor conservatives — though there’s no evidence that’s true, beyond some instances where the Biden campaign sought to have explicit images of the president’s son removed from Twitter.
Read more:
Trump predictably tries to make Biden’s State of the Union all about himself
Trump amplifies unfounded claim Ron DeSantis ‘groomed’ underaged students with alcohol in Truth Social post
08:00 , John Bowden
Donald Trump has amplified a social media post suggesting Florida governor Ron DeSantis “groomed” teen girls and drank with his students while the Republican state leader was a high school teacher.
In a series of statements on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, Mr Trump responded to a post from a user showing a low-quality photo of a man with a resemblance to Mr DeSantis standing with a group of young women with blurred out faces, one of whom appears to be holding a beer bottle.
“Here is Ron DeSanctimonious grooming high school girls with alcohol as a teacher,” a caption on the user’s post reads.
Mr Trump, resharing the image multiple times, responded, “No way?” and, “That’s not Ron, is it?”
Read more:
Trump amplifies unfounded claim Ron DeSantis ‘groomed’ underage students
Trump claims ‘millions and millions’ followed his SOTU commentary after sharing 48 posts in 73 minutes
07:00 , Megan Sheets and Gustaf Kilander
Mr Trump posted an astonishing 48 Truth Social posts over the course of Mr Biden’s State of the Union address.
The speech lasted about one hour and 13 minutes, meaning Mr Trump shared a post every 90 seconds on average.
The former president boasted about his commentary performance on Wednesday morning, claiming “millions and millions” of people tuned in to hear what he had to say.
“Big night for ‘TRUTH’ last night. Tremendous numbers of people signed on to hear my ‘Play by Play’ of the SOTU Speech…Like I mean Millions and Millions of people, and TRUTH handled the Traffic well,” he wrote.
“Congrats to Devin Nunes and all of those great technicians and others who make TRUTH Social work. Despite all of the obstacles put in our path by the SEC, others in Government, and the Fake News Media, it is a giant success that reaches massive numbers of people, both Friend & Foe! Thank you!” he added.
Read more:
Trump claims ‘millions and millions’ followed his SOTU commentary
Part of Biden speech takes on tone of Donald Trump
06:00 , Andrew Feinberg
In one part of his State of the Union on Tuesday night, President Joe Biden’s rhetoric took on a populist tone that would have been equally appropriate coming from the mouth of his predecessor, former president Donald Trump.
Mr Biden lamented how the American middle class has been “hollowed out” over a period of decades, while “good-paying manufacturing jobs moved overseas” and “factories at home closed down”.
Referring back to the theme of his 2020 campaign, Mr Biden said his “vision for country” has always been to “restore the soul of America” to “rebuild the backbone ... of the middle class,” and to “unite the country”.
In what looked to be a preview of his 2024 reelection theme, Mr Biden exhorted both sides of the aisle to take up the unfinished parts of his agenda.
Trump ex-lawyer Cohen meets again with New York prosecutors
05:01 , The Associated Press
Donald Trump‘s former lawyer Michael Cohen said he was meeting yet again Wednesday with New York City prosecutors who have spent years examining the former president’s financial dealings.
Cohen stopped briefly to talk with reporters as he entered the Manhattan district attorney’s office. He said it was the 15th time he had met with prosecutors.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg recently convened a new grand jury to hear evidence related to payments Cohen helped arrange in 2016 to two women who claimed to have had sexual encounters with Trump.
“I don’t know why I’m here yet. We’ll find out as soon as I get upstairs,” Cohen said.
Cohen was previously one of Trump’s top lieutenants, acting as a liaison with the media and handling some of his legal and business affairs. But after federal prosecutors charged Cohen with tax evasion and criminal campaign finance violations, the two have become enemies.
Read more:
Trump ex-lawyer Cohen meets again with New York prosecutors
GOP senator has Twitter account suspended over hunting profile photo
04:00 , Abe Asher
Sen Steve Daines of Montana had his Twitter account suspended for several hours on Tuesday for violating the company’s sensitive media policy.
It is believed that the affronting photograph was Mr Daines’ profile picture, which shows him and his wife in hunting gear posing with a dead animal. Mr Daines’ campaign account, which shows him shooting a gun, was not suspended.
“We don’t allow images of dead animals or blood in profile photos because we are unable to label them as NSFW and keep them from being seen by users who specifically don’t want to see graphic images,” Twitter’s Vice President for Trust and Safety Ella Irwin wrote to Mr Daines’ Senate office, in a message explaining the suspension that was reported by CNN.
The profile picture appears to show flecks of blood on the animal’s leg that become more apparent upon zooming in on the photograph. Mr Daines appears to be holding the animal’s head up.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee did not take kindly to the suspension or the explanation.
Read more:
GOP senator has Twitter account suspended over hunting profile photo
Nude photos, arrest threats and Elon Musk: GOP airs grievances at ‘bizarre’ Twitter hearing
03:00 , Andrew Feinberg
A madcap House Oversight Committee hearing about a two-year-old New York Post story Republicans hoped would deal a fatal blow to Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign has been condemned as a “bizarre political stunt” by the White House.
The Wednesday morning hearing, which Oversight chairman James Comer said would be the first in a series examining issues related to Mr Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, focused on Twitter executives’ temporary move to block distribution of an October 2020 Post story purporting to reveal email messages from Hunter Biden to an executive at the Ukrainian gas company he represented as an attorney and later served as a board member.
In his opening statement, Mr Comer called the session a “first step in examining the coordination between the federal government and Big Tech to restrict protected speech and interfere in the democratic process” and claimed social media companies are “under the control of people who are hostile to the fundamental American principles of free speech and expression protected in the U.S. Constitution”.
Read more:
Nude photos, arrest threats and Elon Musk: GOP airs grievances at ‘bizarre’ hearing
‘I don’t spend my time trying to smear other Republicans’: DeSantis slams Trump
02:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Mr Trump’s main 2024 rival, pushed back against the former president during a press conference on Wednesday.
“I spend my time delivering results for the people of Florida and fighting against Joe Biden,” he told reporters, according to The Hill. “That’s how I spend my time. I don’t spend my time trying to smear other Republicans.”
Ex-Twitter staff outlines worries about escalating rhetoric ahead of Jan 6
01:15 , Gustaf Kilander
Ex-Twitter staff member Anika Collier Navaroli said during a congressional hearing on Wednesday that ahead of January 6, “what was once fringe ideology or fringe statements calling for the overthrow of the government became a loud roar”.
Raskin guides Navaroli through explaining how in the months leading up to January 6, Twitter actually bent over backward to accommodate right-wing MAGA hate speech pic.twitter.com/Igr6dD3LDP
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 8, 2023
‘Can we finally let go’ of 2020 election, Dallas Democrat asks
00:30 , Gustaf Kilander
Rep. Crockett: "I'm glad that seemingly we have now accepted that President Joe Biden won the election, even though now we are blaming President Trump's loss on Twitter. Can we finally let it go?" pic.twitter.com/OG3GTQM5U3
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 8, 2023
Trump admin and allies regularly asked for tweets to be taken down, former aides say
Wednesday 8 February 2023 23:45 , Gustaf.Kilander
The Trump administration and its allies regularly asked for tweets to be taken down by the social media platform, something the GOP has accused Democrats of doing.
“It was strange to me when all of these investigations were announced because it was all about the exact same stuff that we had done,” while Mr Trump was president, a former aide in the administration told Rolling Stone. “It was normal.”
“Everybody worked the refs,” a Twitter source told the outlet. “Usually with the Republicans, most of the time rather than saying, ‘Why are you taking things down?’ it was, ‘You need to put things back up.’ It was, ‘Put me back, put me back.’”
Twitter staffer says she was told ‘to make sure World War 3 did not start on the platform’
Wednesday 8 February 2023 23:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Ex-Twitter staff member Anika Collier Navaroli said during a congressional hearing on Wednesday that “in January 2020, after the US assassinated an Iranian general and the US president decided to justify it on Twitter, management literally instructed me and my team to make sure that World War III did not start on the platform”.
In early January 2020, Mr Trump said that the general, Qasem Soleimani, was “the number-one terrorist anywhere in the world”.
Navaroli: "In January 2020, after the US assassinated an Iranian general and the US president decided to justify it on Twitter, management literally instructed me and my team to make sure that World War 3 did not start on the platform." pic.twitter.com/FbiNB6zVO0
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 8, 2023
‘We need to talk about Twitter’s failure to act before January 6'
Wednesday 8 February 2023 22:30 , Gustaf Kilander
Ex-Twitter staff member Anika Collier Navaroli said during a congressional hearing on Wednesday that “if we’re here to talk social media and the government, we need to talk about Twitter’s failure to act before January 6”.
On January 6, 2021, a mob of Trump supporters laid siege to the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying the victory in the 2020 election of President Joe Biden.
“I’m here to tell you that doing nothing is not an option. If we continue to do nothing, violence is going to happen again,” Ms Navaroli added.
Former Twitter official Anika Collier Navaroli says "if we're here to talk social media &the govt, we need to talk about Twitter's failure to act before J6. I'm here to tell you that doing nothing is not an option. If we continue to do nothing, violence is going to happen again" pic.twitter.com/IXDl7nOqzi
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 8, 2023
‘Twitter ... knowingly facilitated Trump’s spread of disinformation,’ Jamie Raskin says
Wednesday 8 February 2023 22:00 , Gustaf Kilander
During the Oversight Committee’s hearing on Twitter and Hunter Biden’s laptop on Wednesday, Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin said that “rather than conspiring to suppress right-wing MAGA speech, as my colleagues astonishingly claim, Twitter and other media companies knowingly facilitated Trump’s spread of disinformation”.
"Rather than conspiring to suppress right-wing MAGA speech, as my colleagues astonishingly claim, Twitter and other media companies knowingly facilitated Trump's spread of disinformation" -- Raskin pic.twitter.com/tjM4NRt8eA
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 8, 2023
AOC notes Trump admin revealed publicly they worked with Twitter on moderation
Wednesday 8 February 2023 21:30 , Gustaf Kilander
New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez noted during the Twitter hearing in Congress on Wednesday that “we actually have quite a documented history of representatives from the Trump administration hailing the progress that the government had made working with companies like Twitter to counter foreign influence operations and other areas of concern”.
AOC points out that the Trump administration PUBLICLY BRAGGED about working directly with Twitter about content moderation pic.twitter.com/SiCeHPzEYq
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 8, 2023
Former Fox News host blasts Huckabee Sanders for not mentioning Trump
Wednesday 8 February 2023 21:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Former Fox News host Lou Dobbs has criticised Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders for not mentioning Donald Trump during her response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.
“I think that was a great insult to Trump - not mentioning his name. To not mention his name, to talk about ‘new leadership’ ... it was a shame,” he said on Steve Bannon’s War Room broadcast.
Lou Dobbs tells Bannon that Sarah Huckabee Sanders speech tried to undermine Trump in favor of Desantis: “I think that was a great insult to Trump - not mentioning his name. To not mention his name, to talk about ‘new leadership’ .. it was a shame.” pic.twitter.com/Qekoo1LWmB
— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) February 8, 2023
Twitter hearing shows how platform was biased in favour of GOP and Trump even before Musk takeover, writer says
Wednesday 8 February 2023 20:30 , Gustaf Kilander
Writer Parker Molloy wrote on Twitter that Wednesday’s hearing with former employees of the social media platform revealed “how Twitter was, even before [Elon] Musk, biased in favour of the GOP. Trump didn’t have to follow the same rules as everyone else. He was held to lower standards than anyone else. And then Twitter rewrote its rules specifically for him”.
AOC: So Twitter changed their own policy after Trump violated it to accommodate his tweets? pic.twitter.com/ViBt5yqWC5
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 8, 2023
‘Trump absolutely loves censorship’: Correspondent calls out former president
Wednesday 8 February 2023 20:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Matthew Sheffield, a correspondent for The Young Turks, took to Twitter on Wednesday to call out Mr Trump, writing that “every Republican accusation is a confession”.
“Trump absolutely loves censorship,” he added. “For decades, he has used legal threats and lawsuits to intimidate legitimate journalists and public figures who call out his criminality.”
Once again, every Republican accusation is a confession. Trump absolutely loves censorship. For decades, he has used legal threats and lawsuits to intimidate legitimate journalists and public figures who call out his criminality. https://t.co/ihsHXJly81
— Matthew Sheffield (@mattsheffield) February 8, 2023
Ex-Twitter staff say Trump White House attempted to get Chrissy Teigen posts removed
Wednesday 8 February 2023 19:30 , Gustaf Kilander
Former Twitter employee Anika Collier Navaroli confirmed during a hearing on Wednesday that Twitter received a request from the Trump White House that a tweet by Chrissy Teigen mocking Mr Trump “come down”.
Twitter executives verify to the House Oversight Committee that the Trump White House tried to get Twitter to take down tweets from Chrissy Teigen that made fun of Trump. pic.twitter.com/gQU8YWT0kw
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) February 8, 2023
Trump claims ‘millions and millions’ followed his SOTU commentary after sharing 48 posts in 73 minutes
Wednesday 8 February 2023 19:00 , Megan Sheets and Gustaf Kilander
Mr Trump posted an astonishing 48 Truth Social posts over the course of Mr Biden’s State of the Union address.
The speech lasted about one hour and 13 minutes, meaning Mr Trump shared a post every 90 seconds on average.
The former president boasted about his commentary performance on Wednesday morning, claiming “millions and millions” of people tuned in to hear what he had to say.
Read more:
Trump claims ‘millions and millions’ followed his SOTU commentary
VIDEO: Donald Trump Jr compares a trans rights protest to the January 6th Insurrection
Wednesday 8 February 2023 18:30 , The Independent
Trump ex-lawyer Cohen meets again with New York prosecutors
Wednesday 8 February 2023 18:00 , The Associated Press
Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen said he was meeting yet again Wednesday with New York City prosecutors who have spent years examining the former president’s financial dealings.
Cohen stopped briefly to talk with reporters as he entered the Manhattan district attorney’s office. He said it was the 15th time he had met with prosecutors.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg recently convened a new grand jury to hear evidence related to payments Cohen helped arrange in 2016 to two women who claimed to have had sexual encounters with Trump.
“I don’t know why I’m here yet. We’ll find out as soon as I get upstairs,” Cohen said.
Cohen was previously one of Trump’s top lieutenants, acting as a liaison with the media and handling some of his legal and business affairs. But after federal prosecutors charged Cohen with tax evasion and criminal campaign finance violations, the two have become enemies.
Cohen testified before Congress that Trump’s company misled banks and others about the value of its assets, helping to spur investigations that led to the Trump Organization’s conviction in December on charges that it helped some of its executives avoid personal income taxes.
The existence of the new grand jury was previously confirmed by two people familiar with the investigation, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the secret proceeding.
Trump has denied having extramarital affairs with either of the women — porn star Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal. Trump’s lawyers have said the payments were legal and that the investigation is politically motivated.
Trump once again claims his campaign was spied on
Wednesday 8 February 2023 17:30 , Gustaf Kilander
Donald Trump has previously claimed that his 2016 campaign was spied on, an allegation he returned to on Wednesday morning.
“Watch the Twitter hearings going on right now in Washington. They admit that the Presidential Election of 2020 was RIGGED & STOLLEN! (sic) What is going to be done about this?” he inaccurately wrote on Truth Social.
“Remember, they SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN!!!” he later added.
Trump boasts about poll numbers, claiming ‘tremendous support'
Wednesday 8 February 2023 17:10 , Gustaf Kilander
Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday morning, claiming to have “tremendous support” among Americans.
“My poll numbers are great against everybody, Republican & Democrat, alike,” he claimed. “Tremendous support from the American people. The only way they think they can stop the MAGA movement, or me, is through the Weaponization of Law Enforcement, including CORRUPT local, Radical Left, Democrat D.A.’s. & A.G.’s. It is all run through the Injustice Department and FBI in D.C. This is an EVIL time in America!”
Trump claims ‘tremendous numbers’ tuned in to his SOTU commentary
Wednesday 8 February 2023 16:50 , Megan Sheets
Mr Trump posted an astonishing 48 Truth Social posts over the course of Mr Biden’s State of the Union address.
The speech lasted about one hour and 13 minutes, meaning Mr Trump shared a post every 90 seconds on average.
The former president boasted about his commentary performance on Wednesday morning, claiming “millions and millions” of people tuned in to hear what he had to say.
“Big night for ‘TRUTH’ last night. Tremendous numbers of people signed on to hear my ‘Play by Play’ of the SOTU Speech…Like I mean Millions and Millions of people, and TRUTH handled the Traffic well,” he wrote.
“Congrats to Devin Nunes and all of those great technicians and others who make TRUTH Social work. Despite all of the obstacles put in our path by the SEC, others in Government, and the Fake News Media, it is a giant success that reaches massive numbers of people, both Friend & Foe! Thank you!”
Trump seeks to overshadow Biden’s State of the Union
Wednesday 8 February 2023 16:35 , John Bowden
Mr Trump was very active on Tuesday as his 2020 rival Joe Biden delivered his second State of the Union speech from Capitol Hill.
The former president (and current 2024 candidate) attempted to capture headlines and public attention with a long thread of live commentary meant to accompany his political foe’s address. Few saw it, however, as the former president remains inactive on Twitter after being unbanned by Elon Musk.
“Having a hard time getting the words out, even though the Fake News will credit him with one of the Great Speeches of all time. I really want to see him improve. Come one Joe, you can do it!” he wrote in one Truth Social post.
But that was far from the extent of the ex-president’s attempts to hug the spotlight on Tuesday. While Mr Biden spoke, his 2024 campaign released a flurry of press releases — eight in total — touting various accomplishments and goings-on of the Trump presidency.
Mr Trump also attacked Mr Biden and his campaign for supposedly coordinating with social media companies to censor conservatives — though there’s no evidence that’s true, beyond some instances where the Biden campaign sought to have explicit images of the president’s son removed from Twitter.
The Independent’s John Bowden has more:
Trump predictably tries to make Biden’s State of the Union all about himself
Trump responses to unfounded claims draw outrage
Wednesday 8 February 2023 16:20 , Megan Sheets
Mr Trump’s decision to respond - multiple times - to the DeSantis post was met with widespread backlash from both sides of the political aisle.
The ex-president’s posts were widely received as a campaign attack, though Mr DeSantis has not officially announced his run for president in 2024 yet.
BREAKING: Trump is posting pictures of Ron DeSantis and young girls on Truth Social.
The 2024 battle has begun and it’s a GOP civil war. pic.twitter.com/cs4E90ecvt— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) February 8, 2023
The thing I don't understand about Trump is that his policy other than the vax is solid. But these crazy juvenile attacks on DeSantis, it's like he is trying to lose.
Does anyone else find this just strange?— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii) February 8, 2023
BREAKING: Donald Trump accused Ron DeSantis of being a pedophile.
This is just the beginning. It will get much uglier in the next few months.— Republicans against Trumpism (@RpsAgainstTrump) February 7, 2023
Trump & his simps are lying and gaslighting their arses off about DeSantis already, and Ron isn't even in the race yet. But that's exactly what DeSantis would face next year from Democrats, so best to find out this year if he can successfully stand up to it.
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) February 7, 2023
Where did the baseless DeSantis ‘grooming’ claim come from?
Wednesday 8 February 2023 16:05 , Josh Marcus
The image amplified by Mr Trump on Tuesday was shared by a Truth Social user whose other posts include a claim that he is a “soldier for Trump ready to go on a battlefield and shed blood”.
The unverified photo links back to a 2021 report on Mr DeSantis from a site called Hill Reporter, a blog from a Democratic super PAC.
The article cites anonymous sources and claims that someone with “close knowledge of the matter” said Mr DeSantis “had a reputation among students for being a young ‘hot teacher’ who girls loved, and the girls in the photo are believed to have graduated in 2002, making them seniors at the time.”
Last year, the New York Times reported that after Mr DeSantis graduated from college, he spent time teaching at the Darlington School in Georgia as a 23-year-old, where he had a reputation for attending parties with seniors who lived nearby.
“As an 18-year-old, I remember thinking, ‘What are you doing here, dude?’” one former student told the paper.
Others said his alleged presence at the parties, including at least two where alcohol was served, wasn’t unwelcomed.
Trump amplifies baseless claim about DeSantis
Wednesday 8 February 2023 16:00 , Megan Sheets
Donald Trump is facing backlash for amplifying a social media post suggesting Florida Gov Ron DeSantis “groomed” teen girls and drank with his students while he was a high school teacher.
In a series of statements on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, Mr Trump responded to a post from a user showing a low-quality photo of a man with a resemblance to Mr DeSantis standing with a group of young women with blurred out faces, one of whom appears to be holding a beer bottle.
“Here is Ron DeSanctimonious grooming high school girls with alcohol as a teacher,” a caption on the user’s post reads.
Mr Trump, resharing the image multiple times, responded, “No way?” and, “That’s not Ron, is it?”
Mr DeSantis has yet to address the matter publicly as of Wednesday morning. The Independent has contacted his office for comment.
The Independent’s Josh Marcus has more:
Trump amplifies unfounded claim Ron DeSantis ‘groomed’ underage students
