In a new interview, former President Trump evaded the question of whether Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) will make a “good president” in the future.
In an interview that aired Monday night on Newsmax, presenter Greg Kelly asked the former president if DeSantis “could be a good president someday,” noting that Trump was “crushing” the governor in the polls.
“Well, I endorsed him once when he was losing badly, and the next day he won in a landslide because of my endorsement,” Trump replied. “Look, I’m going down on him right now; I believe in loyalty as well as other things.”
“It is evident that he has not conducted a very good campaign, as he is being thoroughly defeated. Therefore, I truly do not know. I’m not sure. He added, “You know, I don’t know him all that well.”
Trump has assailed DeSantis in recent weeks as the Florida governor mulls a possible White House bid, despite the fact that he has not yet formally declared his candidacy. Trump has also repeatedly claimed credit for DeSantis’ election to the office of governor, recalling multiple times that DeSantis came to him with “tears in his eyes” to plead for his support.
Trump stated on Monday, “I am extremely disappointed in him because I am a loyal person, perhaps to a fault.” “I’m a devoted person. And if someone gets you elected and you tell people, “Well, I’m not sure if I’ll run against the president,” that’s a bad sign. That shouldn’t be how life works. However, it does, and that is also acceptable. Numerous individuals argued that loyalty has no value. “Loyalty means a great deal to me.”
A recent Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll found that 55% of Republican respondents would support Trump in a hypothetical matchup against other potential GOP candidates, including DeSantis, who had the second-highest share of the vote (20%).
The Hill sought comment from DeSantis’s team.
