Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
James Devaney/GC Images and Joe Raedle/Getty Images
On Saturday, Donald Trump slammed the prospect of Ron DeSantis running against him in 2024.
Trump said it would be “very disloyal” of DeSantis to run for president.
“To me it is, it’s always about loyalty,” Trump said. “But for a lot of people, it’s not about that.”
On Saturday, former President Donald Trump hit out at his would-be 2024 rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“So then when I hear he might run, you know, I consider that very disloyal,” Trump told reporters on board his plane, per CNN. “But, it’s not about loyalty — to me it is, it’s always about loyalty. But for a lot of people, it’s not about that.”
Trump also claimed without substantiation that DeSantis would not have been elected governor of Florida without his support.
“Number one, he never would have gotten the nomination. And number two, he never would have beat his Democrat opponent,” Trump said.
—Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) January 29, 2023
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he is responsible for DeSantis’ political success. In June, the former president said he was “very responsible” for DeSantis’ 2018 win. Over the weekend, Trump again took the credit for DeSantis getting elected, while brushing off questions about the governor being ahead of him in the polls.
“He won’t be leading, I got him elected,” Trump said on Saturday, per Politico. “I’m the one that chose him.”
Trump in November announced his 2024 run. On Saturday, he hit the campaign trail with events in South Carolina and New Hampshire.
DeSantis has not yet announced a 2024 run, but he has hinted that he might run for president. Notably, during a debate in October, DeSantis did not commit to serving another four full years as Florida’s governor.
Trump, meanwhile, has already gone on the offensive against DeSantis. In November, Trump dubbed the governor “Ron DeSanctimonious” during a rally, and blasted him as “average” on social media. The nickname “Ron DeSanctimonious” also found its way into one of Trump’s Truth Social rants on Sunday night.
Trump also fired a warning shot at DeSantis during a January 16 podcast, saying he will “handle” DeSantis if the governor runs against him.
DeSantis has refrained from hitting back at Trump. In November, DeSantis told people to “chill out” about the prospect of a GOP civil war between him and the former president.
Representatives for Trump and Desantis did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment.