If Trump wanted to convey to his voters that it was a near certainty that he was going run for office again, he is going to make it all but impossible for a potential foe to raise money. Trump seems to be doing just that. He has surely read about recent polls showing some MAGAs resisting a second run, favoring Ron DeSantis instead.
So, Trump told DeSantis, through Yahoo News [1], to not even think about it.
Former President Donald Trump told Yahoo Finance that he was noncommittal on the subject of a hypothetical 2024 rematch with his successor — but made a bold prediction about his ability to prevail in a Republican primary that may include Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The former president was confident about his chances if he decided to run, even if it meant a potential head-to-head matchup with DeSantis, another GOP favorite. “If I faced him, I’d beat him like I would beat everyone else,” Trump declared, even as he said he doesn’t actually expect a showdown.
“I don’t think I will face him,” he predicted about what DeSantis and other Republicans would do if he got into the race. “I think most people would drop out, I think he would drop out.”
As this site has opined a few times, despite Trump’s talk about near certainty with regard to running in 2024, it remains doubtful, at least to us.
It seems more likely that, deep down, he would fear another loss, something his ego couldn’t possibly take. But more importantly, at this very early stage, Trump doesn’t want anyone else on that stage. If a voter or some other entity wants to spend money to influence or simply help a Republican, Trump wants that money, all of it. Badly.
EXCLUSIVE: Trump on a 2024 GOP primary vs. Ron DeSantis: 'I'd beat him like I would beat everyone else' via @benwerschkul [2] https://t.co/VwgoJnzIZt [3] pic.twitter.com/CAZK6mKLP9 [4]
— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) October 3, 2021 [5]