Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, would be a “dangerous” candidate for president in 2024, according to Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney.
The conservative Trump detractor claimed in an interview with the New York Times that she might support a Republican candidate, but not one who promoted the former president’s allegations of election fraud.
She couldn’t support DeSantis either, according to Cheney, despite the Republican governor’s surge in popularity due to his resistance to COVID-19 regulations and legislation that Democrats have dubbed anti-LGBTQ.
She said, “I believe Ron DeSantis has aligned himself almost fully with Donald Trump, and I believe it is extremely dangerous.”
It would be “extremely difficult” for Cheney to back DeSantis, she said.
Trump, DeSantis, and even Cheney herself have all said they are thinking about competing for higher office in 2024.
The former president, though, has been the most outspoken of the three, implying at almost every public appearance that he has given a third candidacy significant consideration.
He has even hinted that he would make a decision before the midterm elections in November, a move that seems to be unsettling GOP members.
And as Americans travel to the polls to pick which party will control Congress for the second half of President Joe Biden’s term, South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds claims that it would play straight into the hands of Democrats.
Rounds said on ABC News’ This Week on Sunday that “Democrats, right now, would love to have President Trump declare before 2022.”
I believe that they want to have it divert attention away from the 2022 election and the candidates they have.
According to a recent ABC/Ipsos survey, Biden’s support rating is only 37%, and he said that the president’s party is eager to change the subject.
Rounds said, “And the other thing is, with President Biden as deep down as he is right now, their ideals, their concerns, the fact that inflation is at over 9%, GDP is down, I believe this is a good moment for them to try and be looking at other things to speak about.”
On Saturday night, Trump spoke to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas, bragging about his alleged triumphs and warning the gathering, “We may have to do it again.”
The former president also won a straw poll of guests’ opinions on 2024, as in prior years.
DeSantis received 65% of the vote in the absence of Trump, winning by a large margin over Senator Ted Cruz, who came in second with 6%.
GOP Senator Mike Rounds tells @GStephanopoulos that he is concentrating on the 2022 midterm elections as former President Trump once again suggests running for president in 2024.
“I’ll save my ammunition for the 2024 campaign. Let’s see if anybody else steps forward. Twitter: https://t.co/wrmTKtmJv5 Pic: lcna3EgQd9
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 7, 2022 Rounds on Sunday avoided committing to support Trump in 2024 but still remaining silent on the former president.
“In this specific instance, my attention will be on the 2022 election.” We need to reclaim it, the South Dakota Republican said.
He believed that a “large open field” of contenders would emerge.
I’ll save my ammunition for the 2024 campaign. See who else steps up,” Rounds remarked.
Cheney has also hinted in her language that she wants to win over a larger group of supporters.
She is expected to lose her position as the only representative from Wyoming in the House of Representatives next week, but she hasn’t ruled out running for president in 2024.
The Republican legislator is facing a primary opponent who has Trump’s support after she voted to impeach the former president for the assault on the US Capitol.
In a straw poll held on Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas, Trump and DeSantis tied for first place.
According to several surveys, Cheney’s opponent Harriet Hageman will win handily. Following Cheney’s expulsion, the Wyoming GOP, along with House Republican leaders, are supporting Hageman.
But Cheney has already won support from both sides of the aisle because to her anti-Trump statements and leadership as vice chair of the January 6 committee.
According to her New York Times interview, she has also leaned into it in an effort to connect with people all throughout the nation.
Cheney told the publication that women in Wyoming want a leader who is “capable.”
Additionally, she sided with moderate Democrats who had a track record of contributing to US national security rather than extreme elements of her own party.
Even while I undoubtedly have significant differences with the Democratic women I just cited on substantive issues, Cheney added, “I would much prefer serve alongside Mikie Sherrill, Chrissy Houlahan, and Elissa Slotkin than Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert.”
However, they “love our nation,” “do their studies,” and “are folks who are striving to do what is right for the country.”