‘DeSantis Can’t Overcome’ Him In Likely 2024 Run

Topline

Former President Donald Trump endorsed a prediction from right-wing talk show host Megyn Kelly that Republican voters will remain faithful to the former president over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) if the two face off for the 2024 presidential nomination, the latest in a flurry of posts — and reposts — from Trump on Truth Social about his 2024 prospects.

Former President Donald Trump hinted again on Truth Social that he will run for president in 2024.

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Key Facts

On his Truth Social platform, Trump reposted a video from the Blaze TV talk show, The Rubin Report, in which the former Fox News host offers a confident prediction that Trump will win the 2024 nomination if he runs, and argues DeSantis “can’t take [Trump] down,” and “the only winning move is not to play.”

When asked if DeSantis is “crafty” or “interesting” enough to take Trump down in a debate, Kelly quickly answered “no,” with Trump captioning the video, simply, “I AGREE!”—the latest hint that Trump is planning to run for a second term in 2024.

He has also reposted a slew of posts from right-wing outlets and Truth Social members, including one last month that stated blankly “Donald Trump Must Be The 2024 Republican Nominee.”

Although neither Trump or DeSantis have publicly announced whether they’ll run in 2024, both appear poised to make a run, with the Florida governor breaking a state fundraising record, taking in more than $218 million in his 2022 gubernatorial bid, and raising eyebrows about whether that money will be used toward a 2024 run.

Trump has repeatedly criticized DeSantis both publicly and privately, calling him “gutless” for failing to disclose his vaccination status and decrying his support for moderate Republican candidates who have broken away from the former president as a “BIG MISTAKE”—Trump has lashed out against anti-MAGA Republicans, including Sen.

Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo), and Colorado Senate candidate Joe O’Dea, who DeSantis endorsed.

What To Watch For

Whether Trump will announce a presidential bid before the November 8 midterm election. In July, he told New York magazine he already made up his mind about a presidential run, and that the only remaining question is whether he’ll announce it before or after the midterms, adding “I feel very confident that, if I decide to run, I’ll win.” He has reportedly been on the fence about announcing his campaign for months, telling aides in July he was eager to launch his presidential bid by the end of the month in order to capitalize on Biden’s flopping approval rating, which hit a low of 37.9% on July 22, according to FiveThirtyEight’s weighted polling average. He reiterated his indication again last month, even as the Department of Justice launched an investigation into whether he took classified White House documents to his home at Mar-a-Lago, telling right-wing radio host Hugh Hewitt he would have “no prohibition against running” in light of the probe.

Key Background

Trump has broken harshly from DeSantis since his 2018 gubernatorial campaign, when he ran on a pro-MAGA platform, taking a hardline stance on immigration and Covid-19 mask mandates. By the beginning of 2022, however, Trump’s support of the popular Florida governor had eroded, after DeSantis repeatedly sidestepped the question of whether he’ll run in 2024. Trump slammed him as a “gutless” politician in an interview on right-wing One America News in January, after DeSantis refused to disclose whether he received a Covid-19 booster shot. DeSantis later said he regretted not criticizing the Trump Administration’s calls for lockdowns early on in the pandemic.

Big Number

48%. That’s how many likely Republican voters in a September Yahoo News/YouGov poll said they would support Trump in 2024, over DeSantis’ 37%. But recent polling has been mixed. In June, a University of New Hampshire poll found 39% of likely Republican voters favor DeSantis as the 2024 Republican nominee while 37% want it to be Trump, marking a high point for the Florida governor, after two UNH polls last year revealed less than 20% of likely GOP voters prefer DeSantis as the Republican candidate. An Emerson College poll released in July, however, put Trump up over DeSantis 55% to 20%, with another 5% of likely voters saying they would choose former Vice President Mike Pence as the Republican nominee.

Chief Critic

The post comes two days after former Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan told Fox Business that Republicans have the best chance of winning the White House by electing “anybody not named Trump,” arguing suburban swing voters don’t like Trump.