Trump is threatening to dish on Governor Ron DeSantis if he runs against him in 2024.
Buried in a Fox News article about Trump, they reveal that the former president is now encouraging DeSantis to stay in Florida and not run against him.
Here’s the lowdown from FNC on what Trump said:
During a rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend, Trump mocked DeSantis and referred to him as “Ron DeSanctimonious” in what some suggested was a sign of growing tension between the two over 2024. The following day, Trump gave his support to DeSantis, who is in a competitive gubernatorial race, and urged voters to cast their ballots for him.
When asked whether the two are in some kind of “tiff,” Trump replied, “There’s not a tiff with me, and I’m way up in the polls,” Trump said. “No, there’s not.”
Later in the interview, Trump said DeSantis is a “fine guy.”
“I don’t know if he is running. I think if he runs, he could hurt himself very badly. I really believe he could hurt himself badly,” Trump said. “I think he would be making a mistake, I think the base would not like it — I don’t think it would be good for the party.”
“Any of that stuff is not good — you have other people that possibly will run, I guess,” he added. “I don’t know if he runs. If he runs, he runs.”
Trump did say that if DeSantis does run, “I would tell you things about him that won’t be very flattering — I know more about him than anybody — other than, perhaps, his wife.”
This is classic Trump. I didn’t like it in 2016 when he tried to tear down Ben Carson and I don’t like how he’s trying to handle Governor DeSantis.
And let’s all be very clear. Trump knows that DeSantis is extremely popular with the party and, were he to run in 2024, he’d be the biggest threat to him of anyone to date. That’s why he doesn’t want him to run.
Plus given the way Trump treats rivals, it would not only damage DeSantis but it would also damage his own reputation should he try to destroy DeSantis in an election.
Of course it doesn’t have to be this way. Trump could just tout himself and his accomplishments as president, having already run the country for four years and done a good job at it, and let all of that stand on its own. But Trump fights like a nasty Democrat against rivals and that would take a toll on the party.
Remember, DeSantis has said ZERO about running in 2024. He’s been asked about it and all he says is that he’s concerned with winning this election and running the state of Florida for another four years.