Donald Trump was back at it again on Truth Social over the weekend. The ex-president is working to secure his victory in the Republican nominating contest before it even officially begins, swiping at any rival that dares to pull into competitive territory. At present, that largely means gratuitous attacks aimed at Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, who is the only other Republican consistently pulling double-digit poll numbers. On Saturday, Mr Trump claimed that the Florida governor was now seeking to depart the presidential race after Mr DeSantis’s poll numbers dropped somewhat in the wake of the ex-president being indicted on state and federal charges. “Ron DeSanctimonious is desperately trying to get out of the Presidential race, while at the same time saving face for 2028, where he has been greatly damaged,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social. He went on to suggest that money transferred over from the governor’s 2022 reelection bid to his presidential campaign may have been done so illegally — though the governor hasn’t been accused of committing any crimes by any credible authority. It was the kind of attack that Mr Trump has been lobbing at the governor for months – to little response. Mr DeSantis has largely refrained from attacking his rival in the 2024 contest, apparently fearful of alienating the Republican base in a way that Mr Trump does not worry about. The Florida governor’s campaign for the 2024 nomination is also complicated by the entrance of a number of Republican rivals such as Nikki Haley, Sen Tim Scott and others, all of whom are thought to be splitting the vote share of Republicans who have grown tired of the former president. Mr Trump, meanwhile, has seen his own poll numbers grow amid his two criminal indictments, with many Republicans seemingly taking his word that he is innocent of the crimes for which he is charged and agreeing that he is the subject of a “witch hunt”. Read More Trump’s encounter with Guy Fieri at UFC fight sparks mixed reactions DeSantis nervously laughs when asked about campaign ‘failure to launch’ in Fox News interview Trump lawyer Alina Habba leaves his defence team in New York fraud case

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Erik ten Hag is back where he started. In one respect, anyway. The Dutchman lost his first two games as Manchester United manager and has lost his last two. He inherited a team in the Europa League, went on a marathon run in the Europa League and, suddenly and despite a run of 30 matches that produced 63 points, could face next season in the Europa League. Talk of the title at Old Trafford has given way to worry about Liverpool – if not from Ten Hag. But the pain of finishing fifth would be exacerbated if United are leapfrogged by their enemies. Ten Hag left West Ham on Sunday sounding rational. “If you look at the table we have everything in our hands,” he said. They do. Win three of their last four games and Liverpool’s results become irrelevant. Three of those four matches are at Old Trafford where United are unbeaten in the league since August, dropping just six points. None of their remaining opponents are in the top nine, and United have a lone defeat to bottom-11 sides this season; it was, though, that most recent outing, at West Ham. United are the team who first had and then lost momentum. They are the side who seemed relentless during the lengthiest fixture list in Europe this season until they now look like running out of steam. They were the squad who seemed transformed under Ten Hag and now appear reliant on overworked, potentially exhausted individuals as faultlines in the group have become more apparent. They may need Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford to drag them over the line. Fernandes is 54 games into his season, Rashford 53 into his. Factor in international commitments and the Portuguese is up to 63 appearances already. There is a sense that exertions are taking their toll. United have only won one of their last six games in all competitions, though a penalty shootout triumph against Brighton has also taken them into the FA Cup final. They have three goals in six; three in 584 minutes. They have lost their way later in matches, giving up 2-0 leads to Sevilla and Tottenham, conceding a 99th-minute winner to Brighton. Ten Hag built a team with a new spine but it has been fractured and frayed. They can count the cost of Sevilla’s visit to Old Trafford; the loss of two goals was accompanied by the loss of two centre-backs, with Lisandro Martinez’s season over and Raphael Varane sidelined ever since. Take each out and United are less secure, less confident, less capable of playing out from the back. It has felt a reversion to the problems Ole Gunnar Solskjaer bequeathed: Harry Maguire had a harrowing outing in Seville and, partly because of suspension and injury, has not started since. Victor Lindelof has at least been decent as a deputy; United have only conceded in the last three games because of individual errors, though Luke Shaw’s late handball at Brighton and David de Gea’s almost inexplicable inability to save Said Benrahma’s tame shot at West Ham cost two points. But De Gea has had twin terrible nights in the last month, following his disastrous night in Seville. Now there seems a soft underbelly. Further forward, the relief of seeing players making swifter-than-expected recoveries from injury has given way to questions if they were rushed back when neither has regained form. Christian Eriksen was excellent against Nottingham Forest but has been more subdued since. Rashford scored one and made another against Spurs but has otherwise had five fruitless outings since returning in the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Which has assumed a greater importance, given the way he carried United through winter, through an inspired run of 18 goals and four assists in 19 games. It makes it a still greater indictment of his teammates that United only have 49 league goals and could yet end up with their second lowest in the Premier League era, ahead only of Louis van Gaal’s self-defeatingly dull team of 2015-16. A tally of 98 in all competitions at least sounds healthier but others have scarcely eased the burden on Rashford: Anthony Martial has no goals in his last eight outings, Wout Weghorst none in 12, Antony one in 14, Jadon Sancho one in 17. The supporting cast have offered too little support. Finishing is a problem for a team struggling to end the season in style; they have underperformed their expected goals in ten of their last 11 league games. The need for a striking signing was apparent long before Weghorst descended into utter ineffectuality, but United’s budget could depend in part on qualifying for the Champions League. And when one route was closed off, it felt less of a blow than it may now prove to be. United were shocking against Sevilla, providing the latest addition to a series of terrible displays that have punctuated their season. But they were six points ahead of Tottenham and 12 clear of Liverpool then. A top-four finish still appeared overwhelmingly likely. Now the gap to Jurgen Klopp’s team is down to one and it has been downgraded to just probable. Ten Hag has placed great faith in United’s bouncebackability: every time after August they suffered a setback, they had an immediate response. Until they lost at Brighton and then at West Ham. Now it is Wolves, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Fulham amid the danger that, after a season that has offered grounds for optimism and plenty of evidence of improvement, the league table could make talk of progress look an illusion. Read More Is Vinicius the best player in the world right now? Real Madrid star’s brilliance has elevated the debate Sergio Busquets calls time on ‘unforgettable’ Barcelona career ‘Manchester United lives in my heart’: How Katie Zelem epitomises ‘crazy journey’ to FA Cup final

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Chris Jericho has addressed the departure of CM Punk from All Elite Wrestling after the wrestler was fired earlier this week following a series of altercations. Punk, real name Phil Brooks, was fired from AEW by the promotion's co-founder Tony Khan following a confrontation with Jack Perry at Wembley Stadium during the record-breaking All In show on August 27th. Punk was also said to have 'lunged' at Khan following the incident which resulted in several monitors falling over. In a statement following Punk's firing, Khan said that he had never previously "feared for his life" at a wrestling show until that moment. The departure of the former world champion has cast an air of speculation and controversy around Punk, who still managed to open the show at Wembley with Samoa Joe in a widely praised match. Chris Jericho, one of AEW's other top names revealed that he spoke to Punk on the day to ask him about a spot in his match which ended in a joke about Punk's finishing move, the Go To Sleep (GTS), as reported by F4WOnline. Speaking on his Talk is Jericho podcast, the 52-year-old said: "I don't want to dwell on this or talk about it but I should address it. Of course, CM Punk no longer with AEW, and Wembley was his last match, what a way to go out. "I did talk to him briefly. I was going to do a Frankensteiner off the top and I know that he does that sometimes so I was just curious if he was doing it. I went and talked to him for a bit and asked him if he was doing it, he wasn't. Then I told him I was going to do the GTS with a straight face and I think for a second he thought that I was going to and I was joking, of course." Jericho continued by saying that it was a sad moment for the fledgling company but continued to praise Punk. "I did see him that day and once again, it's a regretful moment what happened but Tony Khan made his decision," Jericho added. "Like I said, CM Punk was a big part of AEW for the time he was here and if you're going to go out, he went out on top, for sure." Punk leaving AEW has sparked rumours that he could be returning to WWE, a promotion he left in 2014, also under controversial circumstances. However, resurfaced footage from Seth Rollins would suggest that not everyone in the WWE locker room would be too keen to see him return. After his match at Wembley, Punk also appeared to mouth the words 'goodbye' suggesting that he knew at that point his time in AEW was up. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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