Trump is ready to put up a fight.
In an interview with The New Yorker, former President Donald Trump noted that while he wasn’t sure whether Florida Governor Ron DeSantis would be running in the 2024 GOP Presidential race, Trump was certain he would beat DeSantis.
“I don’t know if Ron is running, and I don’t ask him,” Trump stated before emphasizing that it was the Florida Governor’s “prerogative” but declared, “I would win.”
The comments Trump’s made to The New Yorker are not the first warnings he sent to DeSantis, despite the Presidential primaries still being two years away.
DeSantis has gained plenty of influence in the last few years. The former Congressman was elected as Florida’s governor in 2019 after getting an endorsement from then-President Trump. It was from this position, during the COVID-19 pandemic, that he was able to confront many harsh restrictions and mandates, earning him the respect of a vast majority of conservative Republicans. But it wasn’t just the pandemic that paved the way for DeSantis’ fame in GOP circles; his pursuit of conservative policies in a polarized political landscape has also contributed to his success.
Now, DeSantis is growing his own loyal following in the same vein as Trump, irking Trump, who believes his responsible for DeSantis’ success.
While DeSantis’ star is rising, Trump is starting to lose some of his star power, partly due to his fixation on the 2020 Presidential elections, which he claims were “rigged” and partly because he hasn’t offered much insight into the platform he would run on if he did choose to make a comeback.
Nevertheless, Trump continues to tease the possibility of a Presidential bid, saying to The New Yorker that he is “very close to making a decision” on a 2024 campaign.
