In a series of tweets, President Trump dismissed rumors that he was considering Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as a potential running mate in 2024.
On Friday, former President Donald Trump said it was “very unlikely” that he would work with Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running against him in the primary.
Trump has been quite critical of the Florida governor even before he sought the Republican nominee for president in 2024. In an interview, he stated that recruiting DeSantis to be his running partner was never a consideration.
I don’t think that’s a smart concept,” Trump told Newsmax.
There are a lot of great people in the Republican Party.I know it comes up in conversation occasionally, but I’ve never given it any attention,” he said.
There has been a meteoric rise in DeSantis’s popularity among Republican voters ever since he took office as Florida governor in 2018. This is because he took a hard line against companies and media people who attacked his agenda and campaigned against limitations on the spread of the coronavirus during a pandemic. He also opposed the teaching of critical race theory and sex and gender ideology in schools. Trump and DeSantis are consistently picked as the top two candidates for the Republican nomination in made-up 2024 races, and Trump views DeSantis as the greatest threat to his renomination.
Trump feels deceived by DeSantis since the former supported Trump’s third attempt for the presidency in 2018, but now opposes it and seems to want to be president himself.
In an interview with Newsmax, Trump claimed credit for both DeSantis’ rise to prominence as a Republican candidate for governor in Florida and his eventual victory over Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, the Democratic nominee.
I choose him,” Trump declared. “He was faring poorly in the polls. His political career had ended. He was on the verge of leaving politics, but with my help he went from virtually unknown to a national celebrity. By organizing campaign events, I was able to assist Ron win the election. After a few years, they approached him with the question, “Would you run for president against the president?” I have no comment, he said in response. I warned her, “That can’t occur.”
Until this week, DeSantis had generally ignored Trump’s insults, but he recently brought up the prospect that Trump may be charged by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for reportedly paying porn star Stormy Daniels hush money in 2016 to keep her quiet about an alleged sexual encounter. Trump has often denied having an affair or that his payment to Daniels was illegal.
DeSantis, when asked if he thought Trump will be indicted, accused Bragg of having a “political agenda” as a prosecutor. Also, he said, “I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a pornstar to keep her quiet about an alleged affair. I can’t really comment on it.
The response infuriated Trump. Trump criticized DeSantis as “average,” “ungrateful,” and “disloyal” in a series of posts on Truth Social.
Nonetheless, when interviewed by British talk show host Piers Morgan, DeSantis stood by his comments. The whole interview aired on Fox Nation on Thursday, and excerpts and comments from it have been all over the headlines this week.
He reflected on his 19-point reelection victory from last year and contrasted it to Trump’s expected loss in 2020. He also contrasted his “no-nonsense” approach to governance with the “chaos” of the Trump administration. Trump has repeatedly insulted the governor, while DeSantis has criticized the previous administration for failing to remove federal health officer Dr. Anthony Fauci.
If DeSantis runs for president, Trump believes he will lose. The governor’s record is held up against those of other prominent Republicans like former Florida governor Jeb Bush and former House Speaker Paul Ryan. He accomplishes this by bringing up the fact that, as a member of Congress, DeSantis voted in favor of increasing the retirement age to 70 in 2013.
He voted against Social Security and everything else,” Trump told Newsmax. “If you look at his record, he can’t win.” “He abstained from voting on matters of vital importance. Medicare. No, he didn’t back the Medicare bill. He has plans to make signing up for Social Security extremely challenging.
Most people don’t know that Ron was Paul Ryan’s student, but the things he’s voted against are bad. Paul Ryan came up short and lost. That’s old news to you. Trump characterized him as “a loser in many ways.”
This assertion conflicts with the available evidence. In early 2017, DeSantis became a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus. Both Speaker Ryan and his predecessor, John Boehner, found this faction to be a major source of frustration. In 2017, when the Freedom Caucus demanded a full repeal of the Affordable Care Act, often known as Obamacare, and GOP leaders preferred a more restricted repeal, Trump sided with Ryan in voting against the Freedom Caucus.
Trump’s attacks may not be very accurate, but they are more than made up for by his fury. His detractors on the left and right have attacked him on a variety of topics, including education and chronic wasting disease (COLD).
DeSantis will wait until the end of the current session of the Florida legislature in May before deciding whether or not to run for president. Even Trump, though, has promised more military action.
I simply assume he’s fleeing, so I go after him,” Trump said. But, she said, “I’m not out to harm Republicans.”