Brexit leader Nigel Farage predicted that a “titanic clash” is brewing between Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the two leading contenders for the Republican nomination for President in 2024.
Speaking from the mid-term battleground state of Arizona on Wednesday morning, Nigel Farage said that while Republican gains in Congress will limit President Biden’s ability to govern, the failure of a so-called ‘Red Wave’ to materialise will likely elevate Ron DeSantis in the eyes of conservative voters as it will not provide the “huge springboard” Donald Trump had hoped for before his expected announcement of his intention to run for president again.
The veteran political campaigner turned GB News host said that discussions “within the Republican party as to whether they should pick Trump or DeSantis is going to reach fever pitch, in my opinion, over the next few weeks, and I say that as a friend of Donald Trump.”
‘Does it give Donald Trump the huge springboard he would’ve hoped for? I’m not sure it does.’@Nigel_Farage reports from Arizona, as the Republicans are on course to take control of the House of Representatives in the US midterm elections. pic.twitter.com/71nUAp80Xw
— GB News (@GBNEWS) November 9, 2022
While the Red Wave apparently failed to materialise, Governor DeSantis swept to a stunning victory, defeating his Democrat challenger, former governor Charlie Christ by nearly 20 per cent, up from a 0.4 per cent victory in the 2018 contest that saw him become governor of Florida. In a speech from Tampa, DeSantis said that Florida Has “rewritten the political map” after making dramatic gains in former Democrat strongholds such as Miami-Dade county.
Mr Farage said that in light of the large margin for victory for the Florida governor “the numbers supporting the DeSantis will be much higher than it was before, so there could be a really titanic clash here between two alpha males.”
Though the Brexiteer said that he believes if the contest were held now, Trump has the advantage as he had the “overwhelming support” of the Republican base, Farage said that DeSantis is now a “serious challenger to that position,” given his proven ability to convince voters outside of the party’s base.
There has already been some brewing tensions between the two potential presidential contenders, with Trump openly mocking the Florida governor at a rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend, dubbing him “Ron DeSanctimonious”. However, despite the nickname, Mr Trump did reveal that as a Florida resident, he voted for DeSantis on Tuesday.
“Ron DeSanctimonious”
pic.twitter.com/MDawuZcBam— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) November 6, 2022
For Trump, the evening was a mixed bag in terms of endorsements. While MAGA candidates such as Eric Schmitt in Missouri, J.D. Vance in Ohio, Katie Britt in Alabama, Ted Budd in North Carolina prevailed, other key candidates fell to the Democrats such as gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano and Senate candidate Dr Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania.
Several key races remain undecided at the time of this reporting, however, including the Arizona governor and Senate races for Kari Lake and Blake Masters, respectively, who are considered some of the most closely aligned candidates to the former president.
Mr Farage said: “I just think that if Kari Lake wins, then the Trump train is still on, but if Kari Lake doesn’t win, he’s going to have some slight second thought. I still think he will [run] but he will face a tough challenge from DeSantis.”
Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka
