Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla) is reportedly planning a long-awaited 2024 presidential announcement, as his staff prepares for the potential White House bid.
The Washington Post reported that two Republicans with knowledge of DeSantis’s 2024 plans, said that DeSantis is “laying a foundation for a national campaign” amid meetings and preliminary staffing moves.
The WaPo said that the possible future DeSantis 2024 campaign has “already identified multiple potential hires in early primary states such as New Hampshire and Iowa.”
The Republican also told the outlets that Phil Cox and Generra Peck, two key members of DeSantis’s 2022 re-election team, are involved in talks about 2024.
Cox was the former executive director of the Republican Governors Association, while Crist was the campaign manager for DeSantis’s midterm victory over Democrat Charlie Crist.
However, the Florida governor has repeatedly dodged questions on a potential run despite several reports that he is gearing up for a run in the Oval Office.
This comes as former President Trump fired shots at a potential 2024 run from DeSantis during his South Carolina rally on Saturday.
“When I hear that he might [run] I think it’s very disloyal,” Trump said of DeSantis.
He accused the Florida governor of trying to “rewrite history” regarding their COVID-19 pandemic response, adding that DeSantis “changed his tune” several times when it came to the vaccine.
“[DeSantis] promoted the vaccine as much as anyone,” Trump told reporters, according to CNN.
“There are Republican governors that did not close their states,” Trump reminded the reporters. “Florida was closed for a long period of time.”
Nonetheless, Trump brushed off the idea of DeSantis beating him in a possible face-off for the Republican nominee ticket.
“He won’t be leading, I got him elected. I’m the one that chose him,” Trump added.