DeSantis on Presidential Speculation: 'Let's Just Chill Out on That for a While'

Ron DeSantis was again asked about a possible battle with Trump for the 2024 presidential race.

Photo By Gage Skidmore

“We just finished this election. People just need to chill out a little bit on some of this stuff,” DeSantis said.

“We have this Georgia runoff that is coming, which is very important for Republicans to win that Georgia runoff. I mean, I know around the country Florida was kind of the biggest bright spot. It was not so bright in many other parts of the country. It was a substandard performance given the dynamics that are at play,” DeSantis said.

“It’s been a long election. We’ve got the Georgia runoff. But for me, it’s like, ‘OK, what more do we need to do to continue to make Florida lead the way?'”

The remarks came after DeSantis was asked about Trump’s recent criticism of him, which the Florida governor broadly dismissed as “noise.”

DeSantis was not asked about nor did he offer any commentary related to Trump’s decision to launch a third campaign for president.

Trump announced his 2024 candidacy on Tuesday night during a highly publicized media event at his Mar-a-Lago property on Palm Beach. Hours after DeSantis defeated Democratic challenger Charlie Crist in last week's general election, Trump released a lengthy statement, calling DeSantis an "average" governor and taking credit for bolstering the Republican's image.

"Ron DeSanctimonious is playing games!" Trump wrote. "The Fake News asks him if he's going to run if President Trump runs, and he says, 'I'm only focused on the Governor's race, I'm not looking into the future.' Well, in terms of loyalty and class, that's really not the right answer."

In Fort Walton Beach on Tuesday, DeSantis appeared to brush off Trump's comments, telling a crowd of supporters that "when you're getting things done, you take incoming fire. That's just the nature of it."

DeSantis told reporters that GOP did poorly during the 2022 midterms, saying it was a “substandard performance” in light of “the dynamics at are at play.”