Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) reportedly will not kowtow to former President Donald Trump, the New York Times reported about the media’s drummed-up feud between the two stalwart Republicans.

While the establishment media are looking to misdirect readers from President Joe Biden’s 33 percent approval rating and his subsequent failures with “remarks made for irresistible headlines,” the Times joined other media outlets in creating “tensions” between Trump and DeSantis.

The Times reported DeSantis’s friends believe Trump has an “expectation” that DeSantis should “bend the knee” to Trump’s likely 2024 presidential bid. But bending the knee, the governor’s friends reportedly stated, “is asking too much.”

The reporting by the Times on the “tensions” comes after Trump reportedly trashed DeSantis as a 2024 primary opponent, dubbing him a “dull personality” with “no personal charisma” and without a chance of winning.

Establishment media rumors suggest DeSantis responded on Friday to Trump’s comments via a podcast, where he noted “the Covid lockdowns former President Donald Trump encouraged early in the coronavirus pandemic,” NBC News reported.

Both Trump and DeSantis have reportedly stated the drama between the two is media-driven.

The establishment media, which reported last week on Biden’s staggering setbacks, is likely looking to change the topic from Biden to a more harmonious topic of a Trump and DeSantis feud.

NBC anchor Chuck Todd of Meet the Press led his show on Sunday by slamming Biden for failing to shut down the virus, reduce 40-year high inflation, and enact the “Build Back Better Agenda”:

CNN’s State of the Union with anchor Jake Tapper was also forced on Sunday to report Biden’s inability to deliver on his campaign promises. In an interview with Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, Tapper questioned how bad the virus will become over the course of the next weeks.

“This is a very difficult time during this surge. We are seeing high case numbers and hospitalization rates. … We’re also seeing strain in many of our hospitals around the country,” Murthy said. “The next few weeks will be tough.”

Headlines across the major papers throughout the nation wrote negative headlines. “Biden’s year of hard lessons,” the Washington Post reported. “This Presidency Isn’t Turning Out as Planned,” the New York Times penned. “Gloom, outrage and barely any hope from readers on climate change,” the Los Angeles Times published about Biden’s inaction.

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø