Trump watching warily as DeSantis rises as 2024 candidate: 'He built him -- and he could tear him down'
President Donald Trump pouts while listening to criticism of his plan to arm teachers (Screen cap).
July 05, 2021
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is increasingly seen as a likely 2024 presidential candidate, and Donald Trump is reminding allies that he could put an end to those White House ambitions.
The Florida governor has been careful not to anger Trump as his own political fortunes rise in the Republican Party, but Politico reporter Marc Caputo told MSNBC's "Way Too Early" that DeSantis remains wary of upsetting the twice-impeached one-term president ahead of a potential campaign of his own.
"Best we can tell is most of the tension Democrats hoping that tension is true, and some of the folks from the inner circle who see DeSantis as a likely presidential candidate if Trump doesn't run but don't see themselves on DeSantis' team," Caputo said. "So, politically speaking, it's almost an unholy alliance of strange bedfellows where you have Democrats and some Trumpy-style Republicans hoping to stoke this dissension. Best we can tell there's no feud, and as best we can tell there's no tension."
But privately, at least, Trump seems to be keeping a wary eye on DeSantis.
"DeSantis has been respectful of former President Trump," Caputo said. "Trump on occasion does like to remind people, at least a bit subtly, from what we understand, that he built DeSantis, and the suggestion is he could tear him down as well. There's probably truth to that."
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