President Donald Trump has a low opinion of the personality and charisma of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, an increasingly popular Republican.
In recent months, DeSantis has begun to emerge as one of the most popular Republicans nationwide; some people are even saying he should run for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
DeSantis himself hasn’t confirmed any such plans. The governor said he is focused on his reelection this year. However, he remains probably the single most popular potential contender for the Republican nomination if Trump decides not to run for the White House again.
With Trump’s popularity and even cult status surviving and growing even stronger among Republican voters, and with DeSantis’s image becoming more prominent, the mainstream media alleges existing “conflict” of sorts between the two leading Republicans.
I’m not going to fall for the fake news trap. I’m not going to choose between Trump & DeSantis.
I choose both.
Trump 2024. DeSantis 2028.
That’s what’s gonna happen and the democrats and the fake news can’t stop it.
— Alex Bruesewitz (@alexbruesewitz) January 17, 2022
Trump Allegedly Annoyed by DeSantis but Not Worried for 2024
According to a report by Axios, in private conversations, Trump is “trashing” DeSantis “as an ingrate.” The report cites as sources people who recently discussed DeSantis with Trump and wished to remain anonymous.
One source reportedly claimed Trump considers DeSantis a person with a “dull personality,” suffering from a lack of charisma, and having no “realistic chance” of winning if the two of them compete for the 2024 presidential nomination of the Republican Party.
In comments during interviews in recent months, Trump stated he would defeat DeSantis, just as he would any other potential GOP contender for the nomination in the 2024 election.
The report alleged Trump is annoyed by both the fact DeSantis’ popularity nationwide is growing, and the fact DeSantis refused to rule the possibility of running for president in 2024.
The second source focused on Trump’s “irritation with the popular governor.” This annoyance stems from the Florida governor’s unwillingness to declare he wouldn’t challenge Trump for the GOP nomination.
According to the second source, Trump believes DeSantis wouldn’t be able to get re-elected as governor in 2022 without his endorsement.
Who wants Trump-DeSantis in 2024? #Trump2024 pic.twitter.com/KTwCBuLLJf
— Sean Hoffman🍊 (@realseanhoffman) January 9, 2022
Trump – DeSantis ‘Conflict’: ‘Media Invention’
A spokesperson for Trump refused to comment on the quotes from its alleged sources; DeSantis didn’t respond to a comment request, either.
Various contenders, such as Senators Josh Hawley of Missouri, Tim Scott of South Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida, Rick Scott of Florida, and South Dakota’s Governor Kristi Noem have vowed to endorse Trump if he decides to run for the White House in 2024.
The report further alleges that Trump and DeSantis wound up having cases of falling out over matters such as the closing of beaches at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the statistics about hurricane deaths.
In his interview on the Ruthless podcast last week, however, Florida Governor DeSantis declared unequivocally that any claims about “tensions” between Trump and himself are nothing but a “media invention.”
Well, I can admit it: I was wrong.
I really thought the media's ploy of fluffing DeSantis to make Trump jealous of him and create tabloid drama was so transparently cynical that Trump wouldn't take the bait. Apparently I overestimated him. https://t.co/XFXSGr4vK7
— Matthew Chapman (@fawfulfan) January 16, 2022
