DeSantis says Trump is ‘full of it’ when asked about supporting potential GOP nominee
TAMPA, Fla. (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis said former President Donald Trump is “full of it” in regard to attacks on Florida’s handling of COVID-19 when asked if the governor will support Trump, assuming he’s the GOP nominee in 2024.
“So what I would say is this: When you are saying that Cuomo did better on COVID than Florida, you are revealing yourself to just be full of it,” DeSantis said. “Nobody believes that. And you know why? I know that because I remember in 2020, 2021, when he was praising Florida for being open.”
#BREAKING: DeSantis asked if he pledges to support Trump if he's the GOP nominee
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) June 22, 2023
"When you are saying Cuomo did better than Florida on COVID, [you] are full of it. Nobody believes that […] He was praising Florida for being open [in 2020 and 2021]."
"Now he's trying to… pic.twitter.com/dXelUKW2Tn
The governor gave a lengthy response and did not commit to supporting Trump outright, but said he respects the primary “process” and will respect the “people’s decisions.”
Trump previously declined to outright commit to supporting the GOP nominee in 2024.
DeSantis continued, saying “everyone was coming to Florida” and that Trump praised DeSantis as “one of the great governors in the United States.”
“He used to say that all the time. Now all of a sudden, his tune is changing, and I would just tell people, do you find it credible?” he said.
DeSantis is referencing prior remarks from Trump arguing New York, under Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, outperformed Florida on aspects of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Do you honestly find it credible? Would you have rather been in New York during COVID under the Cuomo regime, or would you rather have been in the free state of Florida?” DeSantis said. “And I probably can count the number of Republicans on my hand in the nation who would have rather been under Cuomo in New York.”
DeSantis proceeded to call Trump’s attacks “frivolous criticisms” and said Trump “probably [doesn’t] have very good arguments” if the former president is attacking Florida on handling COVID-19.
“Everything he said about us for years, about how strong we were, how good we were, how we delivered for the state – those happen to be true. And now he’s trying to backtrack because he views he needs to do that, and he’s saying things that are false.”
Circling back to the question about if he’ll support Trump assuming the former president is the GOP nominee, DeSantis insisted he’s “going to be successful” and will beat President Joe Biden.
“And I think more importantly than that, I will actually bring these policies for a landing and get it all done up there. And it’s one thing to promise things,” he said. “So we’ll do it.”
“But it’s an important process and, you know, you respect the process and you respect the people’s decisions how this goes. But I’m very confident that those decisions are going to be positive for us.”
