It’s been clear for some time that Ron DeSantis probably isn’t on Donald Trump’s VP shortlist. DeSantis infuriated the former president by challenging him for the Republican nomination, then dropped out of the race after a humiliating loss in Iowa. Also, putting two demagogic Florida men on the GOP ticket makes no sense — and it may even be unconstitutional.
Nevertheless, DeSantis’s vice-presidential stock shot up this week when Trump seemed to confirm that he was considering him for his running mate.
Upon closer inspection, Trump didn’t really give “DeSantis for VP” much of an endorsement. During a Fox News town-hall meeting, host Laura Ingraham read off a list of six possible running mates suggested by the audience — including DeSantis, Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, Byron Donalds, Kristi Noem, and Tulsi Gabbard — and asked if they were on the shortlist. “They are,” Trump said. “Honestly, all of those people are good. They’re all good, they’re all solid.”
President Trump was asked about his VP pick.
"I want people with common sense, because there's so many things happening in this country that don't make sense." 🔥 pic.twitter.com/DXsWQKqLhg
But now you can cross DeSantis off the list again. “People were mentioning me. I am not doing that,” he said on Wednesday during a thank-you call to supporters who have been recruited to serve as delegates at this summer’s Republican National Convention. While the video call was meant to be private, someone shared a recording with the New York Post.
Then DeSantis, who endorsed Trump as he exited the race, preemptively criticized his candidate for playing “identity politics” with his pick for running mate. (While Trump’s allies are reportedly urging him to choose a Black man or a woman for VP, he hasn’t said much about his selection process.) DeSantis said, per NBC News:
“Now we have a diverse Republican Party. I want everybody in the fold, don’t get me wrong. But I don’t want people representing 10, 15% of the party being in the driver’s seat,” DeSantis said on a call with supporters …
“So I would want somebody that, if something happened, the people that voted us in would have been pleased to know that they’re going to continue the mission,” DeSantis added. “I’m not sure that those are going to necessarily be the criteria that Donald Trump uses. … I have heard that they’re looking more in identity politics. I think that’s a mistake. I think you should just focus on who the best person for the job would be, and then do that accordingly.”
Later in the call, DeSantis seemed to blame Susie Wiles, who ran his campaign for governor and is now a senior Trump campaign adviser, for the bad blood between him and the former president. “I think he’s got people in his inner circle who were part of our orbit years ago that we fired, and I think some of that is they just have an ax to grind,” DeSantis said.
He then suggested Trump might run into trouble by staffing his second administration with “more kind of yes men, rather than folks that are going to be pushing back.”
And just for good measure, DeSantis took some shots at conservative media too. NBC News reports:
“I think they have made the decision that their business model just doesn’t work if they offer any criticism of Trump,” DeSantis said. “I don’t see the accountability being in place right now for the balance of this campaign and then, if he’s able to win, to go into the White House and actually implement some of these policies.”
“I mean, he said at some point he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose a vote,” DeSantis added. “Well, I think he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and the conservative media wouldn’t even report on it that it had happened.”
Team Trump did not let DeSantis’s remarks slide, though they’re ostensibly all on the same side. Trump 2024 adviser Chris LaCivita responded on X:
chicken fingers and pudding cups is what you will be remembered for you sad little man https://t.co/LKvX0YMbnf
And Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt burned DeSantis in an official statement to the Post.
“Ron DeSantis failed miserably in his presidential campaign and does not have a voice in selecting the next vice-president of the United States,” she said. “Rather than throw cheap shots from afar, Ron should focus on what he can do to fire Joe Biden and Make America Great Again.”
When asked if he might run for the presidency again in 2028, DeSantis told his supporters he hasn’t “ruled anything out.” But maybe if he keeps trashing top Trump advisers and the right-wing media behind their backs, they’ll rule it out for him.
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DeSantis Insults His Way Off Trump’s VP Shortlist
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23.02.2024
It’s been clear for some time that Ron DeSantis probably isn’t on Donald Trump’s VP shortlist. DeSantis infuriated the former president by challenging him for the Republican nomination, then dropped out of the race after a humiliating loss in Iowa. Also, putting two demagogic Florida men on the GOP ticket makes no sense — and it may even be unconstitutional.
Nevertheless, DeSantis’s vice-presidential stock shot up this week when Trump seemed to confirm that he was considering him for his running mate.
Upon closer inspection, Trump didn’t really give “DeSantis for VP” much of an endorsement. During a Fox News town-hall meeting, host Laura Ingraham read off a list of six possible running mates suggested by the audience — including DeSantis, Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, Byron Donalds, Kristi Noem, and Tulsi Gabbard — and asked if they were on the shortlist. “They are,” Trump said. “Honestly, all of those people are good. They’re all good, they’re all solid.”
President Trump was asked about his VP pick.
"I want people with common sense, because there's so many things happening in this country that don't make sense." 🔥........
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