Fresh off of the backlash for calling Florida Governor Ron DeSantis “Ron DeSanctimonious,” Donald Trump doubled down on stupid by warning DeSantis that if he runs for president in 2024, he will dish dirt on him.
In an interview with Fox News Digital after his Monday night rally in Ohio, Trump said that even though there is no “tiff” with Ron Desantis, he would be making a “mistake” by running in 2024.
“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,” Trump added. “I don’t know if he runs. If he runs, he runs.”
Then Trump said that if DeSantis does decide to 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.”
Make no mistake about it, Trump feels entitled to the 2024 GOP nomination, and Ron DeSantis is the biggest threat to Trump winning the nomination, should both men run. So far, DeSantis has not indicated that he will run for president in 2024; clearly, Trump doesn’t want him to. Maybe DeSantis won’t; that’s his decision, but he certainly isn’t talking about 2024 while he’s running for reelection in 2022.
But, given the backlash Trump received after bashing DeSantis during his Pennsylvania rally, it’s hard to fathom why he would make such a statement about DeSantis mere days later. Trump may have been trying to scare off DeSantis from running, but he gave Democrats fuel by suggesting there’s dirt on DeSantis just waiting to be uncovered.
Is there really? I highly doubt it, but even if DeSantis doesn’t run in 2024, he’s a presidential contender in future elections and could succeed Trump in the White House, and Trump needs to realize that DeSantis is not his enemy.
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