‘More Of An Executive Guy’

Topline

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) told Newsmax Thursday night he’s not interested in becoming former President Donald Trump’s running mate in 2024, as the right-wing governor has fallen further in the polls to Trump in recent weeks even before he’s formally committed to running for president.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to Iowa voters gathered at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on March 10 … [+] in Des Moines, Iowa.

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Key Facts

DeSantis was asked on Newsmax if he would be Trump’s vice president in 2024, to which he responded he’s “more of an executive guy.”

“I think that you want to be able to do things,” DeSantis added, saying that’s “part of the reason why I got into the job” as governor and is “probably what I’m most suited for.”

When asked about whether he would choose Trump as his running mate if DeSantis won the 2024 nomination, the governor just said, “That’s interesting speculation,” before pivoting to discuss how “if the Biden regime continues .. this country’s going to be in really, really bad shape.”

DeSantis still did not commit to running for president in 2024, saying his current focus was Florida’s legislative session, but “when we get on the other side of that, we’ll see what happens.”

DeSantis also did not criticize Trump directly after the ex-president has gone heavily after him in recent weeks, though he said he was “laughing at” attacks Trump and other Republicans have leveled at him for being a “RINO”—“Republican In Name Only”—because he said there “hasn’t been a bolder governor in the country” on conservative issues.

He continued to criticize the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into Trump that could soon lead to Trump being indicted, saying it was another example of Democratic prosecutors “weaponizing the prosecutorial power to advance their agenda.”

What To Watch For

Florida’s legislative session will wrap up in May, at which point DeSantis is expected to make a decision on his 2024 run. The legislative session is expected to be a way for the Florida governor to push conservative priorities and notch wins ahead of his likely presidential run, as lawmakers take up a series of controversial bills including immigration, abortion and education.

Big Number

26%. That’s the share of GOP voters who said they’d back DeSantis for the 2024 presidential nomination, according to a Morning Consult poll conducted March 17-19. That’s among the lowest level of support DeSantis has received since the weekly polling began in December—tied with 26% support DeSantis received earlier in March—while 54% of respondents said they would back Trump for president.

What We Don’t Know

Who Trump would choose as his running mate if he wins the 2024 nomination. Among the potential contenders that have been floated so far are failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who’s also running for the 2024 nomination.

Key Background

DeSantis has been widely viewed as Trump’s primary rival for the GOP 2024 presidential nomination, particularly after the November midterms, when the governor sailed to reelection by a 19-point margin. Trump has strongly denounced DeSantis in response, dubbing him “Ron DeSanctimonious” and using his rallies and Truth Social posts to decry his record as governor and make allegations about DeSantis and underage women. DeSantis has largely refused to return Trump’s attacks, though he has criticized the ex-president’s Covid-19 response, and his standing in the polls has gone down as Trump’s attacks have ramped up. A New York Times analysis of recent polls released last week found DeSantis has lost four points in polls on average taken over the last month as compared with polls conducted between January 15 and February 15, and Morning Consult’s polling suggests the governor’s standing is still declining.