As Ron DeSantis storms South Carolina ahead of a potential White House run, Donald Trump is urging him to rethink his ambitions.
In a video released to Truth Social, the former President urged his onetime ally to stay put as Florida Governor and stay away from the 2024 GOP Primary, lest he risk the end of his political career.
“Ron DeSantis is a young man who is not doing well against me in the polls, to put it mildly,” Trump said. “I believe that if he decides to run for President, which will only hurt and somewhat divide the Republican Party, which we don’t need, he will lose the cherished and massive MAGA vote and never be able to successfully run for office again.”
Trump offered DeSantis an exit ramp from the potential Primary showdown.
“I believe that if he remains Governor, which is what Florida voters assumed he would do, it would be a whole different story, just saying. But who knows?”
Trump’s statement reiterates, almost word for word, a warning shot he fired on April 10, without the benefit of a video. But the context is different, with roughly half of Florida’s 20-person Republican congressional delegation endorsing the former President in recent days.
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan endorsed Trump Wednesday afternoon, becoming the eighth member of the delegation to support Trump over DeSantis for the Republican nomination.
He joins Brian Mast, Matt Gaetz, Anna Paulina Luna, Cory Mills, John Rutherford, Greg Steube and Byron Donalds in endorsing Trump, with the former President hosting a Mar-a-Lago dinner on Thursday evening with members of the Florida delegation.
And others could be coming: U.S. Reps. Gus Bilirakis and Carlos Gimenez may endorse Trump soon, according to TIME.
One Florida Congresswoman, Laurel Lee, has backed DeSantis’ still unannounced bid.
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Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics contributed to this report.
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