Palm Beach, Florida - Donald Trump took to spreading a seemingly baseless rumor about the campaign plans of Ron DeSantis, his biggest rival in the 2024 presidential race.

Trump shared the gossip in a Truth Social post, claiming "Roomer [sic] are strong in political circles" that DeSantis will soon call it quits.

"Ron DeSanctimonious, whose Presidential run is a shambles, and whose poll numbers have absolutely crashed, putting him 3rd and 4th in some states, will be dropping out of the Presidential race in order to run, in Florida, against Rick Scott for Senate," he continued.

"Now that's an interesting one, isn't it?"

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Early in the race, DeSantis was seen as the most promising opponent to defeat Trump. Since he officially launched back in May, his campaign has failed to make much leeway with the party's base, been rocked by several controversies, and has struggled to maintain support from major donors. Nonetheless, Trump has made it a habit to attack DeSantis on Truth Social, regularly sharing updated poll figures to boast his significant lead.

DeSantis has never hinted that he plans to drop out, and has even spoken positively about his debate performance.

Donald Trump's comments come in the wake of last week's GOP primary debate, which he did not attend.

His absence gave other candidates a chance at the spotlight, most notably entrepreneur and Trump ally Vivek Ramaswamy and even Ron DeSantis.

While some critics described DeSantis' performance as cringy and forced, it seemed to resonate with some right-wing voters. A recent poll by Emerson College found that Trump dropped six points after the debate, while DeSantis gained two points.

The press secretary for DeSantis' campaign described Trump's claim as "fake news."