WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis privately told top donors Thursday that he doesn’t think former President Donald Trump can win reelection, the New York Times reports.
DeSantis said there were only three “credible” candidates in the presidential race and he’s the only one who would be able to win the Republican primary and the general election.
A New York Times reporter listened on the private call where DeSantis told donors, organized by the super PAC supporting him Never Back Down, “You have basically three people at this point that are credible in this whole thing: Biden, Trump and me. And I think of those three, two have a chance to get elected president — Biden and me, based on all the data in the swing states, which is not great for the former president and probably insurmountable because people aren’t going to change their view of him.”
The call comes as DeSantis is ready to launch his 2024 White House bid as soon as next week, according to three people familiar with his intentions, the New York Times reported.
DeSantis is expected to file paperwork and declare his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission ahead of a fund-raising meeting with donors May 25. The Wall Street Journal first reported DeSantis would file the paperwork next week.
During Thursday’s call, DeSantis highlighted that he’d be the only veteran in the 2024 race, the New York Times reported. He was a Navy officer during the Iraq War.
DeSantis didn’t mention his battle with Disney, which withdrew from a $1 billion office complex development in Florida on Thursday.
Trump has a large lead over GOP hopefuls, leading with 32 points ahead of DeSantis, according to a FiveThirtyEight poll.