Republican candidate Kari Lake on Newsmax said “You know if you can’t beat Donald Duck, how are you gonna beat Donald Trump,” during an interview with anchor Eric Bolling on Tuesday.

Lake stated that the governor’s battle on Disney and so-called “woke” politics is a “worthy cause,” but his “half-a****” approach shows that does not the ability to defeat Trump.

“When you pick a fight with Disney, you need to play to win,” Lake explained. “And, thus far, Disney has outworked and outmaneuvered Gov. DeSantis.”

“You know, if you can’t beat Donald Duck, how are you going to beat Donald Trump? I think that’s the question we have to ask her when it comes to Gov. DeSantis.”

Lake went on the say “I think he should stay in Florida and fight for the people there and try to finish that fight, I’d rather see Donald Trump, who’s a deal-maker, who can make things happen, take on woke corporations.”

Also Read| Over 1,900 minors abused in Illinois, Attorney General Kwame Raoul accuses Catholic clergy

Lake is a staunch Trump ally and the failed Republican candidate in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election.

As his expected participation into the GOP presidential primary fight in 2024 approaches, DeSantis has come under increasing pressure from Trump and his friends. According to Reuters, he will announce his candidacy during a Twitter conversation with CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday night.

Lake often complimented DeSantis prior to Trump’s 2024 campaign announcement in November. During a Turning Point USA conference in the summer, she called the governor “fantastic,” saying he rivaled Trump in “BDE”—which she playfully suggested stood for “Big DeSantis Energy.”

Also Read| Who was Jermaine Burnett, shooting suspect found dead in Columbia, Missouri?

Trump began attacking DeSantis as speculation about his candidacy grew, far ahead of this week’s projected campaign launch. He’s given the governor monikers like “Ron DeSanctimonious” and “Meatball Ron.”

Earlier this year, surveys suggested that a hypothetical Trump-DeSantis Republican primary race would be tight, but the former president has since pushed away and emerged as the clear-cut GOP frontrunner. DeSantis’ official candidacy might provide him with a much-needed post-announcement polling boost.

Also Read| 5 biggest controversies surrounding Jeff Bezos

An alleged Trump aide slammed the governor and his likely mode of announcing his candidacy in comments to Reuters, stating that “announcing on Twitter is perfect” for DeSantis because “he doesn’t have to interact with people and the media can’t ask him any questions.”

Musk, who has been chastised for promoting conservative views on Twitter despite promising political neutrality when he bought the platform, reportedly insisted that he is not endorsing “any particular candidate” but is hosting the DeSantis announcement in the interest of “Twitter being somewhat of a town square.”