(Headline USA) Former President Donald Trump said he would consider Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a running mate in a potential 2024 White House bid, saying he has a good relationship with governor many see as a contender for the presidency.
“Well, I get along with him,” Trump told Newsmax. “I was very responsible for his success, because I endorsed him and he went up like a rocket ship.”
Neither Trump nor DeSantis have announced a bid for the White House. Trump, however, has repeatedly hinted at it, while DeSantis has largely shot down the rumors.
“All the speculation about me is purely manufactured,” DeSantis said last year. “I just do my job and we work hard … I hear all this stuff and honestly, it’s nonsense.”
DeSantis rose to national prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic and has pegged himself as a conservative cultural warrior by going after woke companies like Disney in his own state. He has not ruled out the possibility of running in 2024, but has said that for right now he “is focused on 2022.”
Earlier this month, Trump predicted that he would beat DeSantis in the Republican primary if the governor decided to run against him.
“I don’t know if Ron is running, and I don’t ask him, It’s his prerogative. I think I would win,” Trump told the New Yorker.
Trump still holds an edge over DeSantis in just about every poll. One recent survey, for example, found that 60% of Republican voters want Trump to continue leading the party, while 34% believe the party should move in a different direction.
Another survey conducted in April by Rasmussen Reports found that 40% of voters believe Trump would win the GOP primary, while 22% chose DeSantis.
Behind closed doors, Trump has reportedly been more critical of DeSantis, claiming he has a “dull personality.”
But both men have downplayed the rumored feud publicly, saying they have a good relationship.
