Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Wednesday that “people just need to chill out a little bit” when discussing the GOP civil war and a potential 2024 matchup with former President Trump, Bloomberg reports.
Why it matters: DeSantis, a potential 2024 candidate for the Republican party, has faced a number of attacks recently from Trump, who launched his own 2024 campaign Tuesday night.
What he said: At the news conference Wednesday, DeSantis looked to calm the waters over the 2024 election cycle, saying his eyes are on the Georgia runoff election, “which is very important for Republicans to win.”
- He said his reelection in Florida “was the biggest bright spot — it was not so bright in many other parts of the country. It was a substandard performance given the dynamics that are at play.”
- “The good thing about winning a big victory, we’ve got supermajorities in the legislature now and really, I think, we have an opportunity to continue great momentum,” DeSantis said.
Context: DeSantis‘ stock has been rising after his massive victory over Democrat Charlie Crist during the midterms, which showed he has the potential to be a presidential contender, Axios’ Zachary Basu writes.
- But his rise comes as Trump has prepared his own candidacy. The former president has issued repeated attacks and barbs against DeSantis, calling him “average” and “desperate,” and even gave him the nickname “Ron DeSanctimonious.”
- The Florida governor responded to the repeated barbs, saying, “At the end of the day, I would just tell people to go check out the scoreboard” from the midterms, WTSP reports.
More from Axios:
Comments are closed.