Does he? Donald Trump has certainly made that argument well known on social media. Today, he makes it in his first campaign ad, which certainly seems like a strange argument to make for a national campaign premiere:

The Trump campaign is up on TV with this 60-second spot. Airing nationally

This is the first TV ad spending of the 2024 cycle from @TeamTrump pic.twitter.com/UzGxcm2w0d

— Medium Buying (@MediumBuying) April 26, 2023

Ahem. Let’s start with a little fact-checking, not all of which negates Trump’s claims here. Giancarlo Sopo shows polls where DeSantis was leading before the June endorsement, but at the time, DeSantis was actually in trouble, if perhaps not as much as Trump claims:

The fact is that Pres. Trump endorsed then-Rep. DeSantis in June 2018.

DeSantis led, or was within five, of his primary opponent in at least EIGHT polls prior to that.

The endorsement wasn't a freebie. DeSantis had defended Trump with Russiagate. He then helped his re-elect. https://t.co/TGSwaOZUNN pic.twitter.com/B3hgJi6X5b

— Giancarlo Sopo (@GiancarloSopo) April 26, 2023

Allahpundit noted Putnam’s rise by June 2018 at that time, but also points out that Trump had already endorsed DeSantis. The June statement was simply a reminder, and it did work:

Trump endorsed DeSantis all the way back in December 2017 but no one was paying attention at the time to the gubernatorial race, which was still nearly a year away. DeSantis and former Rep. Adam Putnam were neck-and-neck in early GOP primary polling but Putnam started to gain the upper hand in early summer. Then, once again, something changed …

Doubtless at the candidate’s behest, Trump reminded Florida primary voters that DeSantis has the MAGA seal of approval. Literally overnight, DeSantis moved from underdog to favorite. That’s how much Trump owns the party right now.

So this argument isn’t as much of a stretch as some might think — at least in terms of Trump’s boost for DeSantis in 2018’s primary. That endorsement arguably may have made it tougher for DeSantis in the 2018 general election, a blue wave that saw voters punish Trump backers across the country. DeSantis barely held on against Andrew Gillum, and in fact his win was seen as a major upset in an otherwise bleak night for the GOP. Nevertheless, Trump did intervene with the re-endorsement for the primary, and it clearly had a positive impact for DeSantis in the summer of 2018.

That, of course, was five years ago, and DeSantis certainly returned the favor in 2020 by offering Trump his full-throated support in the presidential election. DeSantis helped deliver Florida for Trump in 2020 too. As Sopo also points out, DeSantis offered plenty of political support for Trump during Russiagate. In other words, DeSantis spent a few years being the good party soldier for Trump. At this point, most reasonable voters will likely conclude that Trump got fair value for his 2018 support of DeSantis.

Besides, isn’t this “betrayal” argument better aimed at Mike Pence and Nikki Haley, whom Trump appointed to his ticket and administration?

Even apart from that, this sounds pretty whiny for a first-look official campaign ad. The script for it amplifies that quality, as it sounds as though Trump wrote it himself. “Struggling big-time,” “failing so bad,” “Trump’s support was so powerful,” and so on.  It’s comic-book language for a comic-book grudge. Everything about this ad is about Trump’s personal affront, and nothing — not a single word — is about the issues of the day, policies Trump wants to implement, or even voters themselves. It’s sixty seconds of personal butt-hurt, broadcast nationally.

The strategy is curious on another level, too. A first national ad should re-introduce the candidate to the national electorate in a positive way, highlighting the agenda and accomplishments. Trump obviously needs no introduction, but he does need to repair his standing among voters, especially in terms of favorability. His first argument should have been positive — Morning in America, or at least Make America Great Again. If Trump wanted to go negative, he should have taken aim at Joe Biden. Instead, Trump is amplifying his problems by going negative right out of the gate, and making DeSantis the enemy rather than Biden and Democrats.

Also, this out-of-the-gate focus on DeSantis as the enemy will only make the GOP primary even more of a two-person race, and that’s precisely what Trump doesn’t want. The strategy here is inexplicable, especially for a candidate who’s arguably best positioned to simply promote himself and let everyone else take shots at each other. A two-person race creates a binary choice and a fair fight for DeSantis. Trump is literally playing into DeSantis’ hands with this approach.

This ad smells like fear. And while a lot of the normal rules of politics have not applied to Trump, Morrissey’s First Rule of Dating and Politics likely will: Desperation is not an aphrodisiac. Trump either needs a better team, or he really is deathly afraid that DeSantis will eclipse him.