DeSantis dodges question about Trump’s approval as 2024 candidate
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Thursday avoided directly saying he would endorse Donald J. Trump in 2024 if the former president won the Republican nomination, showing his reluctance to make a benign show of support for the man who hits with a wide lead. margin in national polls and insulted him almost every day.
When asked by a reporter at a press conference in Tampa if he would support Mr. Trump, the governor responded by complaining that Mr. Trump had recently criticized his policies during the coronavirus pandemic. In particular, Mr. DeSantis noted that his rival had compared him unfavorably to former New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat.
“So what I’d say is this: When you say Cuomo did better with Covid than Florida, you’re showing that you’re just full of it,” Mr. DeSantis said. “No one believes that.”
“I remember in 2020 and 2021 when he praised Florida for being open, and said we did a lot better than New York and Michigan and everyone came to Florida and we were one of the great governors in the United States “, he said. continued, raising his voice. And he always said that. Now suddenly his tune changes. And I would just like to tell people, do you find it credible? Do you really find it credible?”
Mr. Trump himself has not pledged to support the party’s 2024 nominee if a rival defeats him in the primary, highlighting the degree of division in the Republican field. Trump’s federal indictment has led some other candidates to criticize him more openly and question his judgment. But Mr. Trump, who regularly calls Mr. DeSantis “Ron DeSanctimonious” and accuses him of needing a “personality transplant,” retains the support of many Republican voters.
At the end of his answer, Mr. DeSantis, who is after Mr. Trump by about 30 percentage points in national polls as more candidates jump into the race, to recognize the importance of the nomination contest.
“It’s an important process and, you know, you respect the process and you respect people’s decisions as to how this goes,” he said. “But I’m confident that those decisions will be positive for us.”
On social media, Mr. Trump’s allies are fast attacked about Mr. DeSantis’s refusal to pledge loyalty to his rival when he falls short.
“Ron DeSantis just proved once again why he is a Never Trumper in the form of Liz Cheney and Jeb Bush, completely disqualifying him from 2024 and 2028,” Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, said in a statement. .
But Mr. Trump, of course, has taken a similar stance.
“That would depend,” Mr. Trump said in a radio interview earlier this year when asked if he would support “anyone” winning the party’s nomination. He added: “It should depend on who the nominee was.”
Republicans have generally shown much more pardon to Mr. Trump than to his rivals, punishing those who challenged the former president for sentiments similar to those he has also expressed.
That’s what the Republican National Committee has said must promise to support the final candidate of the party if they want to take part in debates.
Later on Thursday, at a campaign event in South Carolina, Mr. DeSantis seemed to back down a bit, interrupting a reporter who asked why he seemed to avoid committing to supporting Mr. Trump.
“I wasn’t avoiding it, no, I was misquoted,” Mr. DeSantis replied. “Here’s what I said, I said, ‘You run this process. You compete and respect the outcome of the process.’ And I’ve always said that. And so that’s what I said earlier. That’s what I’ll do. I think I’ll be the nominee. Whatever happens, I’m going to work to beat Joe Biden.”
Voters at the South Carolina event said they hoped Mr. DeSantis and other Republican candidates would support Mr. Trump, should the former president be the nominee.
“I think everyone needs to unite, whoever gets the nomination,” said Shawn Risseeuw, 57, a mechanical engineer who lives in North Augusta, SC, and described herself as a strong DeSantis supporter. “They are fools if they don’t.”