Former US President Donald Trump said that a 2024 presidential run by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would be “a great act of disloyalty”.
Trump made the comments in an interview he gave to The Associated Press on Saturday, after he held campaign rallies in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
“If he runs, that’s fine. I’m way up in the polls,” Trump said. “He’s going to have to do what he wants to do, but he may run. I do think it would be a great act of disloyalty because, you know, I got him in. He had no chance. His political life was over.”
He also told AP that he hasn’t spoken to DeSantis in a long time.
DeSantis has yet to formally announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination and Trump remains the only declared 2024 presidential candidate, but DeSantis’ popularity has risen in recent months, particularly after his re-election as governor.
A recently released poll found that Republican and Republican-leaning voters favor DeSantis as their presidential candidate.
Trump has said in the past that he believes he would prevail in a Republican primary that may include DeSantis. However, he recently warned DeSantis against running for president in 2024, saying, “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.”
Other potential challengers besides DeSantis are Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence and Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley.