If Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has ambitions of announcing a 2024 White House bid, he will have to overcome Trump.
DeSantis, who was reelected with a resounding victory in the gubernatorial race, has emerged as one of the GOP’s rising stars. But the epithet as a rising star has muddied the cordial relationship — or appearance thereof — that DeSantis has maintained with Trump.
On Tuesday (November 15), when Trump announced he would be entering the 2024 White House race, has the potential to further dirty the muddy waters, adding complications and strain to a relationship between the two men that’s already fraying.
If DeSantis decides to enter the race, he and Trump would be in direct conflict, which could frustrate DeSantis’ bid as he’ll be taking on the most famous Republican in the country.
Yet, a DeSantis announcement isn’t imminent. According to some Florida Republicans, the Governor will only announce after Florida’s 2023 legislative session in early May. This is the earliest DeSantis could announce a bid.
But Trump will likely remain threatened by DeSantis’s presence even without an official announcement. Instead, DeSantis’s threatening presence stems from the Florida Republican having the backing of several high-profile Republicans, who have repeatedly floated him as the future of the GOP.
A DeSantis 2024 campaign is also likely to have tremendous financial backing after GOP megadonor Citadel CEO Ken Griffin told Politico he was prepared to back DeSantis.
Without explicitly naming DeSantis, another megadonor, Blackstone Group CEO Stephen A. Schwarzman also mentioned his willingness to back someone other than Trump.
