Trump fires DeSantis as VP pick: ‘Never thought of it’

Former President Donald Trump said he “never considered” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as his running mate in the presidential election less than 24 hours after DeSantis dismissed the idea.

Trump, who announced his candidacy for the 2024 election in November, made the comments in a Newsmax interview on Friday night. DeSantis hasn’t officially announced his candidacy, but it’s widely believed he’s considering a primary challenge for the former president amid an escalating skirmish.

During the interview, Newsmax host Rob Schmitt asked Trump if he had ever considered DeSantis as an “option” for the vice presidential nominee.

“No, I never thought of that,” Trump replied. “I think there are a lot of great people in the Republican Party. I never thought of that.”

“Some people have mentioned it every now and then,” he continued. “But that’s about it. Well I think that would be a very unlikely alliance.”

Trump further suggested that DeSantis was only elected in 2018 on his endorsement, while attacking the governor for being a “disciple” of former House Speaker Paul Ryan’s “loser.”

“I had rallies for Ron, and we brought him in,” Trump said. “And a few years later they said, ‘Are you going to run for president against the president?’ He said, ‘I have no comment.’ I said, ‘This can’t be allowed to happen.’”

“But that’s fine, whatever he wants to do,” Trump added. “If you look at his record, he can’t win…Ron was a student of Paul Ryan, and Paul Ryan was a loser…That’s a bad person to be a student.”

In a Thursday night interview with Newsmax’s Eric Bolling, DeSantis said he was “probably more of an executive” when asked if he would consider serving as Trump’s vice president.

The governor also laughed at a suggestion that Trump could serve as his vice president, calling it “interesting speculation.” He would not say whether he would run for the presidency.

During an interview with Piers Morgan this week, DeSantis also dodged a question about his candidacy, but said he believes he has “what it takes” to beat President Joe Biden in 2024.

Trump faces a legal attack that includes potential criminal charges in New York, Georgia and at the federal level. The impact of possible prosecution on his political future remains unclear.

Former Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, whom Trump has reportedly viewed as a running mate, beat DeSantis in a straw poll of potential Trump vice presidents this month.

The ex-president has already ruled out former vice president Mike Pence as his vice president for 2024. Pence, who may be considering running for office of his own, has had a difficult relationship with Trump since he failed to overturn the 2020 election result during the Jan. 6, 2021 joint session of Congress.

news week emailed the DeSantis office for comment.