Trump offers 2024 advice to ‘young man’ Ron DeSantis, warns of dividing GOP
Ryan King
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Former President Donald Trump played adviser to his top primary threat, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), on the 2024 cycle and Republican unity.
“Ron DeSantis is a young man who is not doing well against me in the polls, to put it mildly. I believe that if he decides to run for President, which will only hurt and somewhat divide the Republican Party, he will lose the cherished and massive MAGA vote, and never be able to successfully run for office again,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
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“If he remains Governor, which is what Florida voters assumed, it would be a whole different story …. JUST SAYIN’ — But who knows,” the former president said.
Although Trump has been pegged consistently as the leader heading into the crowded GOP primary, he has periodically taken shots at DeSantis, who is now polling in second place in a hypothetical GOP field, per the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate.
DeSantis has barnstormed multiple early states, touting Florida as a blueprint for the country writ large. He has been coy about his presidential aspirations and indicated that an announcement could come at some point after the Florida state legislature concludes its session in May.
So far, DeSantis has visited or plans to stop in Iowa, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New York, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio, New Hampshire, Utah, Texas, and Israel, among other locations.
Trump’s campaign recently cut an ad bashing his potential Florida foe and has reportedly sought to lure donors away from him.
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Trump’s reign as the king of the nascent GOP primary was buoyed by his recent indictment by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. DeSantis has criticized the indictment and indicated he would not assist with an extradition request.
“The only reason I have these absolutely ridiculous investigations against me, headed up by racists, lunatics, and radical left maniacs, is for purposes of election interference. It will be harder for the democrats to cheat like they did in 2020, so they are going right to the old soviet union playbook,” Trump wrote in another post using only uppercase letters.