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Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is encouraging Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to stand down in 2024 and throw his support behind Donald Trump.
During an interview on Newsmax with host Eric Bolling, Palin spoke about rumors that DeSantis could make a run for the White House in 2024, which would pit him against Trump in the Republican primary. Trump announced in November that he was running for president.
“Do you think DeSantis jumps in?” Bolling asked Palin.
“DeSantis doesn’t need to,” Palin replied. “I envision him as our president someday, but not right now. Everybody I speak with in Florida, they all love him. And he does set the tone for, I’d say every other governor in the nation. I think he’s our best governor and he should stay governor for a bit longer. He’s young. You know he has decades ahead of him where he can be our president.”
“Trump needs to choose somebody who, like him, has nothing to lose. What more can they do to that person personally or verbal attacks or anything else on the family? That person has been through the wringer, so they know what they’re getting into. And that person then can just focus on doing what’s right for the people,” Palin said.
“Are you described yourself?” Bolling asked.
“Not necessarily,” Palin said before teasing that she was on the 2008 ticket with the late John McCain. “However, I’ll tell you, the opportunity that I had to run with someone who wasn’t as commonsense [of a] constitutional conservative as I, and I think the majority of Republicans were.”
WATCH:
Donald Trump has yet to select a running mate for his 2024 nomination bid, but a report this week suggested that someone is already vying for the spot — Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
Several people have spoken to Greene and have been told “about her weighty ambitions.”
“The second-term congresswoman has managed to align herself with the top Republican in the House, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), acting as one of the Republican’s most vocal allies in his fight to become House speaker.”
“This is no shrinking violet, she’s ambitious — she’s not shy about that, nor should she be,” said Steve Bannon, host of the top podcast “War Room” and an early leading political adviser to Trump.
“She sees herself on the shortlist for Trump’s VP. Paraphrasing Cokie Roberts, when MTG looks in the mirror she sees a potential president smiling back,” he added, a reference to the late political reporter who worked for NPR, ABC News, and other outlets.
Other reports have suggested that Trump could also be considering New York GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik.
CNN published a report speculating that Stefanik is high on the “running mate list.”
While talk about a 2024 vice-presidential pick is of course premature, conversations about adding Stefanik to a future Trump ticket have gained steam in recent weeks at Mar-a-Lago and in other Republican circles, sources said. Current and former advisers and others in Trump’s orbit have privately argued that the New York Republican, who replaced Rep. Liz Cheney as the no. 3 House Republican last year, is a fierce and loyal attack dog, and Trump would benefit from tapping a woman for vice president should he run again.
Two people familiar with the matter said Trump has been surveying close friends and allies on what they think of Stefanik, one of several Republican women he is possibly eyeing for the potential VP slot, though he has not ruled out a few male contenders, too. One of these people said the former President believes Stefanik has undergone a genuine transformation – leaving the moderate wing of the party to join its increasingly powerful “America First” flank.
“There is a part of Trump who thinks he needs a female VP. He definitely likes her, likely because of how effusive she is to him,” an adviser to the former president said.
