Republican congressman endorses DeSantis for president (though hasn’t announced his candidacy): Chip Roy calls Florida governor ‘vibrant and energetic’ who can defend America against ‘awake cultural indoctrination’
- Texas Rep. Chip Roy endorsed Ron DeSantis for president after parting ways with former President Donald Trump after Jan. 6.
- DeSantis, 44, has yet to officially declare that he is running for the 2024 Republican nomination.
- Roy said the country needed a “vibrant and energetic” leader and said it was time for “younger, but proven leadership.”
Texas Rep. Chip Roy has endorsed Ron DeSantis for president, even though the Florida governor has yet to officially declare a 2024 run for the Republican nomination.
Roy sent an email to the followers. On Wednesday he said the next president had to be “vibrant and energetic” and someone who would defend the country from “wakeful cultural indoctrination,” pointing to DeSantis, 44, as that leader.
“It is time for younger, but proven leadership, to offer America a solid eight years of transformative change,” argued the Texas congressman.
Beyond the youth of the Florida governor, Roy noted that while “other Republicans were reeling in key races,” DeSantis was able to win by about 20 points and helped the Republican Party win the entire state of Florida during the November midterms. .
Referencing the 2022 midterm elections in that way could be seen as a slight against former President Donald Trump, 76, whose endorsed candidates lost several high-profile Senate races, including in the swing states of Georgia and Pennsylvania.
Texas Rep. Chip Roy (pictured) endorsed Ron DeSantis for president on Wednesday, arguing the country needed “younger, but proven leadership.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (right) with wife Casey DeSantis (left) has yet to announce a 2024 race, but is already receiving support
Although Roy is one of the most conservative members of Congress, he had already begun to separate himself from the MAGA faithful.
He did not vote to overturn the 2020 election and criticized Trump’s handling of January 6.
In turn, Trump refused to support Roy’s short-lived offer of Republican leadership.
Roy had hoped to take the place of House Republican No. 3 Rep. Liz Cheney, who was ousted for her criticism of Trump in May 2021.
Instead, Trump, and ultimately most of the Republican caucus, endorsed Rep. Elise Stefanik, who came to Congress as a moderate but is now deeply entrenched in the MAGA wing.
“I can’t imagine House Republicans going with Chip Roy; he hasn’t done a great job and will likely be successful in his own district’s primary,” Trump said in a statement as the leadership fight intensified. . “I support Elise, by far, more than Chip!” Trump added.
Now Roy is the first Republican House member to endorse DeSantis, who Trump said this week would “probably” be his toughest Republican challenger in 2024.
“I would say probably yes, but you never know what happens, it could change,” Trump told reporters aboard Trump Force One with him en route to Davenport, Iowa.
“I think we’re not going to have much of a challenge,” Trump also offered.
Trump was the first Republican to declare a run for the White House by 2024, followed by his former ambassador to the UN. Nikki Haley and then businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
DeSantis is reportedly running and made his first trip to Iowa, where the first presidential caucus is being held, on Friday and then headed to Nevada, another state early in the race.
He will also headline a dinner in New Hampshire, which will hold the nation’s first Republican primary in 2024, next month.
But because he has not testified, a Trump-aligned political action filed a complaint with the Florida Ethics Commission on Wednesday arguing that DeSantis was running a “shadow presidential campaign,” which is against Florida law.