Trump Rips Prominent Evangelical After DeSantis Endorsement As ‘Scammer’ 

Former President Donald Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to criticize prominent Iowa evangelical figure Bob Vander Plaats after his endorsement of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, calling him a "scammer."

Vander Plaats fired back in a post on X, slamming Trump as a "chump," who believed his "endorsement would be for sale."

Trump wrote Saturday: "Bob Vander Plaats, the former High School Accountant from Iowa, will do anything to win, something which he hasn’t done in many years. He’s more known for scamming Candidates than he is for Victory ... I don’t believe anything Bob Vander Plaats says."

The former president referenced reporting by Reuters that DeSantis' campaign, a super PAC linked to him and a nonprofit group paid $95,000 to the social conservative organization Vander Plaats leads.

Vander Plaats in his post criticized the former president as the "only candidate EVER" to think his "endorsement would be for sale."

Vander Plaats added: "I live by higher standards. Iowa will exhibit higher standards when they choose @RonDeSantis over a Chump."

In a second post, Vander Plaats said his endorsement of the Florida governor was not against the former president, but rather for the "future of our country."

"Governor DeSantis will win," Vander Plaats said. "He will lead ... for two terms. He will have a team that will drain the swamp."

Vander Plaats was highly critical of Trump leading up to his endorsement of DeSantis, which the former president's campaign has responded to with several jabs.