A longtime ally of former President Donald Trump appears to be jumping ship, and is already hinting at backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president in 2024 instead, POLITICO reported on Thursday.
"Rep. Thomas Massie was so eager for Donald Trump’s endorsement in a contested primary three years ago that he ran TV ads targeted at the then-president in Florida to win his support," reported Ally Mutnick and Sarah Ferris. "Today, Massie is all but shunning Trump and his comeback campaign. In fact, the Kentucky Republican attended a retreat last weekend for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis."
When asked who he plans to endorse in 2024, Massie simply said, “Ron DeSantis is the best governor there ever was.”
And, notes Politico, Massie is not alone in keeping his distance from Trump in the 2024 race.
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"The Kentucky Republican is far from the only one-time Trump ally who’s staying away from the former president, despite his lead in every major poll so far," said the report. "Some are looking more seriously at his would-be rivals like DeSantis or Gov. Nikki Haley. Others are intentionally staying on the sidelines but privately hoping he stumbles. That sentiment is deepening throughout the Republican Party — but no segment of the party illustrates the shift as vividly as the House GOP, whose members almost universally backed Trump in both previous races."
DeSantis, who recently cruised to an easy re-election victory and is engaged in a number of GOP fan-favorite culture wars like taking over state colleges and enacting censorship policies for school books, has not officially declared a run for president. However, he has the pre-emptive backing of key GOP megadonors, and has announced key candidacy steps like a nationwide book tour.
Polling so far has suggested DeSantis is a more threatening competitor to Trump than any of the other Republicans who have considered running, although some recent surveys show Trump retaining a lead in a hypothetical primary. The former president has turned his guns on his former ally he once endorsed for the 2018 Florida governor race, giving him derogatory nicknames and even threatening "retribution" against GOP figures who back him.
