Oxon Hill, Maryland — Former President Donald Trump avoided attacking Gov. Ron DeSantis Saturday and said he’d welcome the Florida governor and other Republicans to challenge him for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
Trump gaggled with reporters for roughly 20 minutes ahead of his keynote speech at the 2023 Conservative Political Action Coalition, when the subject of the primary was broached.
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Asked about former United Nations Secretary Nikki Haley‘s decision to run against him, Trump simply responded “the more the merrier.”
Reporters also asked about DeSantis, who is widely viewed as Trump’s chief competition in the primary, and if the former president believes he should run this cycle.
“That’s up to him. He wouldn’t have been elected if it weren’t for me, but that’s up to him,” he responded.
When asked if he specifically “would welcome him into the race,” Trump answered, “sure.”
The president also tamped down on calls for a Trump-DeSantis ticket, something many CPAC attendees had expressed a desire to see.
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“Well, I’ve always had a great relationship with Ron. I was the one that made it possible for him to win. He was in a very low number and after I endorsed him, he went up by a lot, and he asked me to do that,” Trump responded when asked about tapping DeSantis as running mate. “I’ve always had a good relationship with him, but it’s much too early to talk about that.”
