Ron DeSantis says there are ‘huge warning signs’ about Trump as a candidate because of Republicans who will NEVER vote for him
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis endorsed Trump as he withdrew from 2024 race
- But voters should not expect him to campaign alongside the ex-president
- DeSantis said in his first interview after suspending his campaign that he has doubts about the excitement over Trump’s candidacy
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said in his first interview since withdrawing from the 2024 primaries that he still has major concerns about former President Donald Trump’s electability.
Despite endorsing Trump in his video announcing the suspension of his campaign on Sunday, DeSantis is still warning the Republican Party against nominating Trump because he fears voters won’t vote for him in the general.
“When people come to me who voted for Reagan in ’76 and have been conservative all their lives and say they don’t want to vote for Trump again, that’s a problem,” DeSantis told the conservative radio host. Steve Deace on his podcast on Tuesday.
“So he has to figure out a way to fix that,” he added. “I think there is an enthusiasm problem overall, and I also think there are some voters who have checked out at this point that you have to find a way to get them back.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Sunday he was dropping out of the presidential race — backing Donald Trump but still not thinking he has what it takes to win among the GOP electorate in 2024
After a campaign stop in South Carolina on Saturday, DeSantis secretly returned to Florida and stunned voters when he released a four-and-a-half-minute video on Sunday announcing his departure from the primary.
The clip showed him supporting Trump’s candidacy.
“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” DeSantis said against the backdrop of an American flag during his video dropping out of the race. “They see his presidency stymied by brutal resistance, and they see Democrats today using the law to attack him.”
“Trump is superior to the current incumbent Joe Biden. That is clear,” he added. “I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee, and I will keep that pledge.”
But voters shouldn’t expect DeSantis to join Trump on the campaign trail anytime soon.
Over the past year, Trump and DeSantis have insulted each other – both professionally and personally. Trump called Florida Governor “Ron DeSantimonious” and called him a “traitor” for deciding to run for president during this election cycle.
Trump has won the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire caucuses and is on track for a dominant victory for the Republican nomination
DeSantis told Deace on Tuesday that seeing voter disengagement in this election cycle is a “big warning sign for Republicans” and said a big part of the reason voters are being turned off is because of media reporting, which makes it sound like the former president certainly would win. the nomination.
During the Iowa caucuses on January 15, DeSantis finished in second place, about 30 points behind Trump. Haley came in second, just two percentage points behind DeSantis.
But before the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, DeSantis announced he was suspending his bid and would no longer seek the Republican nomination.
Haley lost to Trump in New Hampshire by 11 percent in what was essentially a head-to-head race.
“I think that was part of the reason why turnout was low, because people were told it was a fait accompli (predetermined outcome),” DeSantis noted. ‘Trump is so high in the polls that he has the nomination.
“And I think they’re like, ‘You know what, we’re doing this again,’ and they’re checked out.”
Trump heads to Las Vegas on Saturday for a rally in the next primary state, where an unusual set of circumstances will see him win all of Nevada’s delegates.