Former President Trump is pushing back on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) remarks calling on the GOP to reject a “culture of losing” in 2024, saying “Ron is not a winner.”
“First of all, I’m not at all caught up in the past. And second of all, I’m doing much better against [President] Biden than he is in the polls, and I’m doing much better against him,” Trump told The Messenger. “I mean, I’m beating [DeSantis] by 40 points in some polls, so he can talk about what he wants. And third of all, I did very well in the midterms.”
“Ron’s not a winner because Ron, without me, wouldn’t have won,” Trump added. “If I would have left it alone, he would have lost by 30 points or more.”
DeSantis, who is mulling a bid for the White House, said at an event over the weekend that Republicans would win if they provide a “positive alternative” to President Biden.
“But there’s no substitute for victory,” he said. “We must reject the culture of losing that has infected our party in recent years.”
Trump has repeatedly taken credit for DeSantis’s win in the 2018 Florida gubernatorial race. He said in the new interview that DeSantis was as “dead as a doornail” before receiving his endorsement.
“I revived him. … I’m a loyal person,” Trump said. “If that happened to me, I would never run against the guy that did that. He’s got plenty of years left. And I think if he runs, he’s gonna lose MAGA votes forever. That’s my opinion. And the MAGA votes are almost everything in the Republican Party, far bigger than you think.”
When asked if he would ever endorse DeSantis, who was overwhelmingly reelected in 2022, Trump said it’s “too early to say. So far, I’m not a fan of the way that he’s running.”
He also said that DeSantis is not doing well in the polls because he has “no personality” and does not have “a lot of political skill.”
Trump has maintained a significant lead lead over DeSantis and others in hypothetical polls about the 2024 election. DeSantis has consistently polled in second place in these surveys, with announced GOP candidates such former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy trailing the governor.
–Updated at 9:00 a.m.