Former President Donald Trump, who is widely expected to mount a 2024 White House bid, has threatened to disclose unflattering material about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis if the GOP governor runs for president.
“If he runs, he runs,” Trump said, according to the Wall Street Journal. Trump, who called the governor “a fine guy,” said that in the event DeSantis chooses to run, he will share “things about him that won’t be very flattering. I know more about him than anybody other than perhaps his wife, who is really running his campaign.”
“I think if he runs, he could hurt himself very badly,” Trump said, according to the outlet. “I think he would be making a mistake,” he said. “I think the base would not like it.” Fox News Digital reported that Trump also said that he does not “think it would be good for the party.”
Trump may be poised to announce another presidential bid soon — he recently revealed that he is planning to make “a very big announcement” next week on November 15 at Mar-a-Lago. After noting the upcoming announcement, Trump then proceeded to express support for the election of various GOP candidates around the country, including DeSantis.
Trump took a jab at DeSantis last week by referring to him as “Ron DeSanctimonious,” though the former president said this week that he voted for the governor’s reelection.
DeSantis, who clobbered Democratic challenger Charlie Crist in the Sunshine State’s 2022 gubernatorial contest, is an enormously popular figure on the political right who many view as someone who could potentially become a presidential contender.
Crist previously served as Florida governor from early 2007 through early 2011 after being elected to the post as a Republican. In 2010, Crist ran for U.S. Senate as an independent but lost to Republican Marco Rubio. Crist ran as a Democrat in Florida’s 2014 gubernatorial election, but lost that race to incumbent GOP Gov. Rick Scott. As a Democrat, Crist won several terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, but resigned from that role earlier this year amid his latest run for governor.