Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows thinks the public can add Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to the list of Republican presidential hopefuls who won’t run against former President Donald Trump in 2024 should he enter the race.
DeSantis recently edged out Trump in the Western Conservative Summit’s presidential straw poll, but Meadows, in an exclusive interview with the Washington Examiner that took place ahead of the poll’s release, danced around DeSantis’s popularity and the notion he might challenge another White House bid from the 45th president.
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“Gov. DeSantis has made it very, very clear that he is running for reelection as governor of Florida, but he doesn’t shy away from being very bold in terms of the initiatives that he’s putting forth,” the former House Freedom Caucus chairman stated, citing three days he recently spent with DeSantis in California. “His reelect for governor is a platform to show that the policies, and the boldness, and, quite frankly, the courage.”
“You know, I think Ron DeSantis is identified across the country now for the courage that he shows for conservative solutions, and he would be the first to say that if President Trump gets in, that he would win the nomination and would clear the field, and so I don’t ever see it being a 2016 primary scenario,” Meadows continued. “That being said, Gov. DeSantis won’t even — he’s asked over and over and over again every time I’m in his presence — he’s been asked, ‘Are you running in 2024?'”
“His answer has been consistent: He is running for reelection for governor of the state that not only he loves, but one that is, quite frankly, well run because of his leadership.”
Meadows had previously predicted that Trump would indeed run again in 2024, but he told the Washington Examiner not to “anticipate the announcement … in the next 30 to 60 days.”
Trump recently scheduled his first post-White House rallies, a mainstay of his 2016 and 2020 campaigns, but his former top aide said that “his willingness to get back out” and hold rallies “is more about him connecting with the people and bringing forth that message, and a ‘thank you’ for their willingness to stay in the battle and keep America first.”
The former president appears cognizant of DeSantis’s popularity among conservatives beyond the Sunshine State. He has floated the notion the governor would make a good running mate in 2024 should he run and secure the GOP nomination.
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That would mean a hard break with former Vice President Mike Pence, who is making moves many campaign strategists say suggest he also is exploring a 2024 bid.
