TRUMP FORCE ONE — Former President Donald Trump said Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will “probably” be his biggest challenger in the presidential primaries leading up to 2024.
A reporter on board Trump Force One asked Trump if DeSantis was going to be his biggest “challenger” in the primaries.
“I would say probably so, but you never know what happens, it could change. I think that we’re not going to have much of a challenge,” Trump responded.
DeSantis has yet to announce a 2024 presidential bid, but has not ruled it out. Polls show the Florida governor is Trump’s biggest opponent, with the only two other Republican candidates that have announced — Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy — trailing far behind the two.
NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND – MARCH 04: Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before his speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center on March 4, 2023 in National Harbor, Maryland. Trump took questions from reporters over a range of topics including on the progress of his campaign and his opinions on the war in Ukraine. Conservatives gathered at the four-day annual conference to discuss the agenda of the Republican Party. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“We ran a great country. We had the greatest economy in history. We had the greatest success ever,” Trump continued, noting his military reforms, tax cuts, deregulation and Israeli peace negotiations.
“We did as well as anybody has ever done. We created, in my administration, the greatest economy in the history of our country, and no-one can even dispute it. And then we got hit with COVID, and we did it again,” Trump said.
Voters will support him because “they miss those times,” he added.
The former president also told reporters that he does not call DeSantis “meatball Ron” because it is “too crude.” (RELATED: Trump Says ‘Meatball Ron’ Is ‘Too Crude’ To Describe DeSantis)
“I don’t use that name. It’s used by other people. I don’t like that name, I think it’s too crude,” Trump told Daily Caller chief national correspondent Henry Rodgers on his way to Iowa.
“I’m a very non-crude individual,” Trump added, laughing.