Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) shot down calls for him to become former President Donald Trump’s vice president after his name was floated for the position.
In a private call with supporters obtained by the Washington Examiner, DeSantis shared his thoughts on the 2024 race as well as his political future. When asked who he believed would be the best Republican vice president, the Florida governor took the opportunity to swat down calls for him to be Trump’s running mate.
“People were mentioning me,” DeSantis said. “I am not doing that.”
Directly answering the question, DeSantis didn’t give any names but derisively said there are plenty of candidates “auditioning” for the role.
“I know some people are really actively seeking it. It seems to me, just from watching kind of the body language and stuff, that you have a handful of folks who seem to be auditioning for it,” he said.
He also appeared to hit Trump by saying his criteria would be different from the former president’s, with his being focused on, above all else, competence.
“My criteria was, basically, I need someone who can do the job if it came to that, and I would have been the third-youngest president elected, so chances are … I would probably be in pretty good shape, but you never know what else can happen. It’s happened before,” DeSantis said.
“So you need someone who can just go in, day one, no problem, they can do the job,” he continued, adding that he would favor a candidate who has been governor.
DeSantis also claimed he heard Trump’s team is looking “more at identity politics.”
Trump appeared ready to extend forgiveness to DeSantis after he dropped out of the primary, and when DeSantis’s name was floated as a possible running mate during Fox News’s Tuesday night town hall, Trump took no issue with it.
However, in the wake of the audio leaking to the public, the former president’s camp had a different response.
“Ron DeSantis failed miserably in his presidential campaign and does not have a voice in selecting the next Vice President of the United States,” Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told the Washington Examiner in a statement. “Rather than throw cheap shots from afar, Ron should focus on what he can do to fire Joe Biden and Make America Great Again.”
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The Washington Examiner reached out to DeSantis’s office for comment.
DeSantis was elusive about a run in 2028, pointing to the rapidly changing political landscape and saying he hasn’t “ruled anything out.” He also gave updates as to how he has been holding up since his primary defeat, sharing that his family has adopted a puppy.
