In a 2024 contest, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) claims he can defeat President Biden.
The emerging Republican star and future presidential contender said that he has the kind of broad appeal required to win a presidential election next year in an interview with Piers Morgan that was published by The New York Post on Monday. He cited his success in Florida’s 2022 midterm elections as evidence.
“I’m running against Biden,” DeSantis said. “Like [Trump and I] are competing for the Republican, potentially, I get that, but ultimately you know the guy I’m gonna focus on is Biden because I think he’s failed the country. I think the country wants a change. I think they want a fresh start and a new direction, and so we’ll be very vocal about that.”
When asked whether he thinks he could beat Biden, the Florida governor replied: “I think so.”
Regarding his goals for 2024, DeSantis has been fairly quiet. Although he is actively planning for a campaign and a formal announcement is widely anticipated in late spring after the Florida state legislature concludes its regular session, he has frequently shrugged off queries about whether he will run for president the following year.
DeSantis is nonetheless displaying all the traits of a politician looking to advance in their career. DeSantis claimed in his interview with Morgan that he had what it takes to win over independent voters because of his record as governor of Florida, which includes a budget surplus, environmentally beneficial policies, and “tough-on-crime” measures.
According to him, Republicans will be successful in 2024 thanks to their broad political appeal.
DeSantis mocked the nickname Trump uses to deride him
“I won with independents by 18 points,” DeSantis said. “And so that will be the same formula that we would take, and honestly forget about me, I think anybody should take the formula like that nationally. You can’t win with just Republicans. You’ve gotta win with independents and you need to convince some of these Democrats, which I was able to do in Florida, because they’re not woke, they don’t like some of the nonsense going on.”
DeSantis made some of his most upbeat remarks yet about a prospective 2024 presidential candidacy during an interview with Fox News host Morgan, who has a difficult relationship with Trump.
He has endured weeks of continuous criticism and scorn from Trump, who is once again seeking the GOP nomination for president. DeSantis, though, has mostly ignored the criticism and maintained that his primary concern is performing his duties as governor of Florida.
At one point in his interview with Morgan, DeSantis mocked the nickname Trump uses to deride him — “Ron DeSanctimonious” — saying: “I don’t know how to spell the sanctimonious one.”
“I don’t really know what it means, but I kinda like it, it’s long, it’s got a lot of vowels,” DeSantis said. “We’ll go with that, that’s fine. I mean you can call me whatever you want, just as long as you also call me a winner because that’s what we’ve been able to do in Florida, is put a lot of points on the board and really take this State to the next level.”
