Trump confirms he would not pick DeSantis as a running mate: ‘I never even thought of it’
Mr Trump called a Republican ticket with Mr DeSantis a ‘very unlikely alliance’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has made it clear he is not considering asking Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to be his 2024 running mate.
The former president was asked by right-wing outlet NewsMax earlier this week if he had ever considered bringing Mr DeSantis on as his vice president candidate. He responded that he had “never thought of it.”
“We have a lot of great people in the Republican Party,” Mr Trump said. “But I never thought of [Mr DeSantis].”
Mr Trump, who announced he would run for a non-consecutive second presidential term in November, went on to say: “I think that would be a very unlikely alliance.”
Mr DeSantis also recently told right-wing media outlet Newsmax that he would not team up if the former president asked him to be his running mate.
The governor said he was "probably more of an executive guy," a possible tease of his own candidacy for the Republican nomination.
“I think that you want to be able to do things,” he told NewsMax.
Mr DeSantis has not officially announced his candidacy but there is broad expectation that he will challenge Mr Trump for the Republican nomination.
The two men have been sniping at each other more frequently as the campaign season ramps up. Mr Trump has been busy testing nicknames for Mr DeSantis, including “Ron DeSanctimonious” and allegedly “Meatball Ron”, though he has denied the latter.
Mr DeSantis is less direct than his potential opponent. During a recent press conference, Mr DeSantis was asked about the potential indictment hanging over Mr Trump for alleged hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The Florida governor said that he didn't agree with the investigation, but noted that he wasn't familiar with the ins-and-outs of paying porn stars to keep quiet.
"I don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair. I just I can't speak to that," he said.
An enraged Mr Trump then took to his social platform, Truth Social, to fire back at Mr DeSantis.
"Ron DeSanctimonious will probably find out about FALSE ACCUSATIONS & FAKE STORIES sometime in the future, as he gets older, wiser and better known, when he's unfairly and illegally attacked by a woman, even classmates that are 'underage' (or possibly a man!)," Mr Trump wrote. "I'm sure he will want to fight these misfits just like I do!"
Mr Trump later deleted the retort.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments