Opinion
The Donald Trump campaign put Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on blast after comments he made on a private call surfaced indicating that he had no interest in serving as Vice President.
NBC News reported on the phone conversation with supporters in which DeSantis urged Trump to avoid “identity politics” in choosing a running mate while dismissing calls for him personally to join the ticket.
“I would want somebody that, if something happened, the people that voted us in would have been pleased to know that they’re going to continue the mission,” DeSantis said.
“I have heard that they’re looking more in identity politics. I think that’s a mistake,” he added. “I think you should just focus on who the best person for the job would be, and then do that accordingly.”
That’s actually a reasonable concept and something Republicans have complained drives Democrats in their every decision – race and gender.
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DeSantis On Being Trump’s Veep: ‘I Am Not Doing That’
According to the NBC report, DeSantis also squashed the idea of joining Trump’s campaign as his Vice President.
“People were mentioning me. I am not doing that,” he said.
DeSantis has long insisted that he would not join the Trump ticket even after leaving the presidential race. He also predicted that Trump would staff his White House with “yes men” who would do his bidding.
“I think that how he staffs the White House, how he staffs the administration, will be really, really significant,” DeSantis said. “I think he likely is going to find people that are going to be more kind of yes men, rather than folks that are going to be pushing back.”
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Trump Campaign Fires Back
To say the Trump campaign didn’t appreciate DeSantis’ comments would be a massive understatement.
Campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt responded, “Ron DeSantis failed miserably in his presidential campaign and does not have a voice in selecting the next vice president of the United States.”
“Rather than throw cheap shots from afar, Ron should focus on what he can do to fire [President] Joe Biden and Make America Great Again,” she added.
Leavitt’s response was far more measured than that of one of Trump’s other aides, senior advisor Chris LaCivita.
“Chicken fingers and pudding cups is what you will be remembered for you sad little man,” LaCivita wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
A Daily Beast report from last year claimed that DeSantis had a peculiar eating habit regarding pudding.
Two unnamed sources for the leftist tabloid claimed that once, four years ago, “DeSantis enjoyed a chocolate pudding dessert—by eating it with three of his fingers.”
Trump’s campaign turned it into a bizarre political ad against the Florida governor.
Trump airs disgusting ad featuring Ron DeSantis eating pudding with his fingers. pic.twitter.com/QWAPI21AjU
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) April 14, 2023
Trump has offered up a few names to his list of vice presidential candidates, including Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida GOP Rep. Byron Donalds, and South Carolina Gov. Kristi Noem.
He did, actually also include DeSantis on that list during a Fox News town hall event earlier this week.
During the private call, DeSantis refused to rule out another run for the White House in 2028.
“Oh, I haven’t ruled anything out,” he said. “I mean … we’re still in this election cycle. So it’s presumptuous to say, you know, this or that. I think a lot happens in politics.”
Let’s hope that he learns from the mistakes that he and his inept campaign strategists made throughout this past year.
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