DeSantis Leans Into 2024 Speculation as Trump Indictment Looms

As Trump’s potential criminal indictment dominates headlines, Florida governor Ron DeSantis is making sure his name is breaking through.

After DeSantis took a jab at Trump on Monday regarding his 2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, the New York Post released an exclusive preview on Tuesday of a Fox Nation interview between the Florida governor and Piers Morgan.

More from Rolling Stone

• DeSantis Administration Moves to Expand "Don't Say Gay" Law to All Grades

• Idaho GOP Channels Trump With Plan to Bring Back Firing Squad

• Ex-Florida Lawmaker Who Sponsored 'Don't Say Gay' Bill Pleads Guilty in Covid Fraud Case

In the interview, DeSantis gave the first concrete inklings that a 2024 campaign announcement is on its way. “Stay tuned,” DeSantis told Morgan when asked if he’d made a decision regarding a potential candidacy.

He clarified that should he run, his focus lies on the White House, and not on Trump. “If I were to run,” he said, “I’m running against Biden… [Trump and I] are competing for the Republican [nomination], potentially, I get that, but ultimately you know the guy I’m gonna focus on is Biden.”

More telling, however, was DeSantis’ willingness to level criticism against the former president.

“To me, it’s just background noise,” DeSantis said when asked about Trump’s repeated social media jabs against him. “It’s not important for me to be fighting with people on social media. It’s not accomplishing anything for the people I represent.”

DeSantis even went so far as to suggest Trump’s hush-money payment to Daniels, which will likely result in criminal charges against him, was unbecoming of a man attempting to walk in the footsteps of the nation’s founders. “You really want to look to people like our founding fathers, like what type of character?” said DeSantis. “It’s not saying that you don’t ever make a mistake in your personal life, but I think what type of character are you bringing?” DeSantis pointed to George Washington as an example of a leader who “always put the Republic over his own personal interest,” and gave up power when the time came.

On the nicknames? He doesn’t care, at least not publicly.

“I don’t know how to spell the sanctimonious one,” DeSantis said, referencing the nickname of “Ron DeSanctimonious” bestowed on him by Trump. “I don’t really know what it means, but I kinda like it, it’s long, it’s got a lot of vowels. We’ll go with that, that’s fine. I mean you can call me whatever you want, just as long as you also call me a winner,” he joked with Morgan.

While DeSantis and Morgan were able to find some levity in their discussion, the preview has drawn ire from Trump’s allies and supporters.

“Just as radical Dems are indicting Trump & destroying the fabric of our nation with their Police State tactics, DeSantis pathetically runs to the liberal media on orders from his RINO establishment owners to attack my father,” tweeted former First Son Donald Trump Jr.

It’s a stretch, however, to call the New York Post a part of the “liberal media.” The outlet is one of conservative billionaire Rupert Murdoch’s various holdings, alongside Fox News. While the preview was given to the Post, it will air on Fox’s streaming service. Fox is notably embroiled in a more than billion-dollar defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems against their network for spreading conspiratorial claims about the company while attempting to defend Trump in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

Best of Rolling Stone

• The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign

• Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal

• The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence

Click here to read the full article.