Be still, my beating heart. Could a Trump-DeSantis ticket in 2024 actually be a possibility? The combined star power of transformative former President Donald Trump and Republican up-and-coming power candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would be pretty much unbeatable. (Yes, yes — fraud, ballot harvesting, etc. — we know where the problems are, and if our side isn’t already sitting on those spots like a ton of bricks, then we deserve to lose. Meanwhile, support Kari Lake’s efforts in Arizona any way you can.)
A Trump-DeSantis victory in 2024 would be the equivalent of a thermonuclear blast to the sclerotic American political scene. It would be historic in a way that Big Left cannot even fathom. It would be sweet, sweet payback for their theft of the 45th president’s term in office. It would our last, best chance to inflict ultimate grudge-match carnage upon the Deep State. It would combine Trump’s brutal non-politician leadership and vision with DeSantis’s political know-how and executive discipline. And it would set us up for a golden era of over a decade of righteous America-first common-sense governance. But could such a dream ever come true?
People assume — and the Left especially loves to push this narrative — that the rivalry between Trump and DeSantis is too rancorous to overcome. But is that really the case? In an appearance on The Todd Starnes Show podcast* Monday, Trump basically told the host, never say never.
The interview opened with Starnes reciting the latest polls that showed Trump far ahead of all other Republican primary candidates. “Rasmussen Reports says Republican voters favor you over Ron DeSantis nearly two to one,” noted Starnes. “And also, CNN, of all places, reporting that you’re actually beating all of the declared candidates in their home states. Certainly no surprise, but what do you make of that?”
This naturally gave Trump an opening to elevate himself above his fellow Floridian. “I just pulled just 25 points up on Ron in Florida,” he said with almost no preamble. “And you know, they like him in Florida. I got him elected, in all fairness. I have to say that, but most people know that. But, uh, Florida, we’re doing great. We’re doing great everywhere.”
The pair then went on to review a litany of the former president’s excellent policies and successes when he was in office before Starnes brought the conversation back to 2024. “Have you started thinking about Vice Presidents?” he queried. “Have you thought about a running mate?”
Trump elaborated on how important the selection of a Vice Presidential running mate is, “because if, you know, if something happens with the President.” Aside from that, though, he thought the decision was inconsequential in terms of political advantage: “I’ve seen so many races where such a big deal with the vice president, but the vice president never really helps too much. It’s all about the person at top; it’s really about the president.”
Then Starnes asked the million-dollar question: “Would you see, is — is there a way that DeSantis could end up as your running mate? Or has that relationship been severed?”
“You know, I don’t know, I — I don’t like saying anything is like impossible,” Trump hedged. He then called the scenario “pretty unlikely” before reverting to his customary DeSantis theme: “I endorsed him, I got him elected. And then he, ah, he did this [launched a campaign for the presidency]. I was very surprised that he did. Without that, it would have been a distinct possibility,” Trump admitted.
In other words, Trump considers DeSantis to be running mate material — someone capable of taking over “if something happens with the President.” The only thing that derailed it was DeSantis’s decision to make a run for the top spot. But as Trump pointed out numerous times during the interview, he’s demolishing DeSantis in the primary polls. He will likely skate to the top of the ticket. What then?
Trump’s going to need a running mate sooner or later. And as often as not, VP candidates are selected from the field of vanquished primary opponents — even if they said lousy things about the victor. (Although so far, DeSantis hasn’t attacked Trump personally so much as his positions.) DeSantis may have hurt Trump’s feelings with his “disloyalty,” but it sounds like the former president has left the door open to entertaining a reconciliation.
Related: A Divided GOP Won’t Win in 2024
If such a political union were to occur, there would still be a detail or two to work out. Trump would have to change his residency again; maybe the former New Yorker who recently became a Floridian could update his address to his Bedminster, N.J., golf club where he summers. As a bonus, that would make him a resident of the same state as newly launched presidential blimp Chris Christie, whose campaign seems to be fueled purely by hatred of the 45th president. That would be hilarious.
Listen to former President Trump on The Todd Starnes Show:
*I should mention that The Todd Starnes Show podcast airs on the Salem Podcast Network, which is part of PJ Media’s parent company, Salem Media Group.