Former President Trump discussed the possibility of a 2024 presidential bid from Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla), noting that it has been a thought of his.
When asked whether it would be a “bad move” for DeSantis to jump into the race during an interview with David Brody on “The Water Cooler,” Trump responded by saying, “we’ll handle that the way I handle things.”
Before Trump announced his candidacy, it was speculated that the former president and DeSantis would team up to take the White House in 2024.
However, the tables have turned after Trump made sly remarks about the governor, calling him "Ron DeSanctimonious,” describing him as "an average Republican Governor with great Public Relations"
“So you know, now I hear he might want to run against me. So we’ll handle that the way I handle things,” Trump said during the interview.
Although DeSantis, who won re-election in a landslide victory, has yet to announce plans to pursue the White House, he has been viewed as someone who can successfully mount a presidential bid against Trump.
Trump has also insisted that he got DeSantis elected in the first place, “pure and simple.”
So far, DeSantis has handled Trump's attacks against him fairly well. Sources say that the Florida governor has yet to respond directly to Trump or address the comments publicly either.
According to a Vanderbilt University poll, 54 percent of registered Republicans view DeSantis as the more favorable candidate compared to 41 percent for Trump.
Another poll from Yahoo News- YouGov, found that DeSantis was ahead of Trump, 47 to 42 percent, among voters.
Last year, Trump said that if DeSantis were to run for president, “he could hurt himself very badly,” adding “I think he would be making a mistake… I think the base would not like it.”
Putting disagreements aside, Trump revealed that he did vote for DeSantis in the 2022 governor’s race.