Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis worried Thursday that a conviction of his primary rival Donald Trump would spell disaster for the Republican Party’s 2024 chances — before reaffirming his commitment to support Trump if he is the GOP nominee.
“It’s going to be fatal in the general election,” DeSantis told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” about Trump’s conviction. “I think the party should not nominate itself [him] in that situation.”
“However, I signed the pledge. I am a Republican. I don’t think it will come to that,” he added. “The reality is, when I signed it, and that’s what I did.”
Like other 2024 Republican hopefuls participating in the party debate, DeSantis signed a pledge to support the eventual nominee, whoever it is.
Trump, who has skipped the only two debates conducted so far, did not sign the pledge.
The 77-year-old former president faces 91 criminal charges including four separate indictments related to his attempt to stay in power after his 2020 election defeat, hush money payments, attempting to overturn Georgia election results and hiding national security documents.
Ron DeSantis believes that Donald Trump’s various allegations will be a liability in 2024.Getty Images
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges pending against him and pleaded not guilty.
Currently, the first criminal case scheduled for trial is a four-count indictment in the 2020 federal election case
The trial is set to begin on March 4, a day before the Super Tuesday main event.
Donald Trump is running with President Biden in the polls, despite legal troubles. AFP via Getty Images
DeSantis has previously criticized the attacks on the allegations against Trump, while emphasizing his electoral liability.
The Trump camp responded by mocking DeSantis’ decision to appear on a reliably liberal cable channel.
“The transformation is complete. Tiny D has been full on Never Trump, campaigning for the Republican primary vote on Morning Joe/MSDNC,” Trump adviser Jason Miller wrote on X in response to DeSantis’ statement.
The transformation is complete. Tiny D has had his fill of Never Trump, campaigning for the Republican primary on Morning Joe/MSDNC. ??♂️ https://t.co/64owxoaiTZ
— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) November 2, 2023
Trump was a regular guest on “Morning Joe” early in the 2016 election cycle, but fell out of favor after his call to ban immigration to the US from Muslim countries in December 2015.
DeSantis has ventured into unfriendly media territory in recent weeks, conducting interviews on networks such as CNN and MSNBC as he fights for the party.
Trump is the runaway Republican frontrunner with a 45.9 percentage point lead over DeSantis nationally, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate.
The 45-year-old Sunshine State governor has long been in second place, although former South Carolina governor and US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has gained momentum in recent polls.
Ahead of the 2024 election battle, Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump are on friendly terms — at least in public.Getty Images
Haley also said that she intends to uphold the pledge of allegiance to support the GOP nominee next year.
“We all signed a pledge saying we’re going to vote for a candidate,” Haley told “The Daily Show” on Wednesday. “We cannot continue to live like this. We cannot do that.”
“I’ll tell you right now, at this point, anybody would be better than Joe Biden, but it would be me,” he said. “And I’m going to make sure that we go and do what we need to do to get the American family back on track.”
Florida governor rips Donald Trump for avoiding GOP debate.AP
On Thursday, Trump got a major Sunshine State endorsement from Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.).
The Republican presidential aspirant is set to compete in the third GOP debate on November 8 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami.
Trump is scheduled to campaign about 10 miles to the northwest in nearby Hialeah, Fla.
“We’re not going to win as Republicans, Joe, using the strategy that Biden did, being in the basement during the 2020 campaign. That’s what Donald Trump effectively did,” DeSantis told “Morning Joe.”
“Donald Trump is considered by Republicans as a fighter, but I also want to win for the people. It means winning the election, but it also means winning this policy fight.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
