(Headline USA) Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed his support for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this week in what appears to be a swipe at former President Donald Trump.
DeSantis, who is up for reelection this week against Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist, was one of the topics of conversation at a recent Trump rally, in which the former president bragged that 70% of Republicans want him to run again in 2024 while only 10% supported DeSantis.
Trump even revealed a new nickname for the governor: “DeSanctimonious.”
“We’re winning big, big, big in the Republican Party for the nomination like nobody’s ever seen before,” Trump said. “Let’s see, there it is: Trump at 71. Ron DeSanctimonious at 10%. Mike Pence at 7—oh, Mike’s doing better than I thought.”
Pompeo, who is also expected to throw his hat in the ring for 2024, took a veiled jab at Trump afterward:
“Not tired of winning,” he tweeted. “@GovRonDeSantis you’ve proven conservative policies work.”
Not tired of winning. @GovRonDeSantis you’ve proven conservative policies work. Florida is better for it. Vote for @GovRonDeSantis
— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) November 6, 2022
Trump has started distancing himself from Republican leaders like DeSantis ahead of an expected 2024 announcement. In an interview last month, he warned that it would be “very disloyal” of any former Cabinet member to run against him.
“Many of them have said they would never run if I run, so we’ll see if that turns out to be true,” Trump told Fox News host Brian Kilmeade. “I think it would be very disloyal if they did, but that’s OK too.”
Trump is expected to announce a 2024 presidential bid shortly after Tuesday’s midterm elections. One potential rumored date is Nov. 14.
According to sources, Trump even considered making the announcement before the election at a recently rally he held for Pennsylvania GOP Senate candidate Mehmet Oz. Those close to him said he is “itching” to make the run official, but has decided to hold off a little bit longer.
