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Amid rising speculation over who will become the 2024 GOP nominee for president, Trump indicated that he agrees that it is not DeSantis’s turn to run for president in 2024.
On Wednesday, Trump shared a video on Truth Social of Kelly stating she does not think DeSantis can win against Trump and that the MAGA base will not “cross” Trump for DeSantis. Trump captioned the video with, “I AGREE!”
Asked whether she believed DeSantis is “skilled” or “crafty” enough to debate Trump, Kelly told Dave Rubin in an interview, “I don’t even think that a little. I think Trump sucks up all the energy in every room, no matter what. And even someone as skilled as a politician and smart policy-wise as DeSantis can’t overcome that. He can’t.”
The video Trump shared on Truth Social is from a longer interview on “The Rubin Report,” where Kelly made it clear that Trump’s dominating influence in the Republican Party and devoted MAGA base makes it impossible for other Republicans to successfully challenge the 45th president. “I just don’t think anybody else could win if Trump runs,” she said.
Kelly explained the MAGA movement would “never cross Trump” to support a potential DeSantis presidential campaign.
While the Florida governor quickly became a central figure in the Republican Party following his 2018 election win, his victory was largely credited to Trump’s endorsement. The 45th president’s endorsement has been key to Republican victories for several years, serving as a reminder that the MAGA movement is a force to be reckoned with.
“They like DeSantis, but they don’t think it’s his turn,” Kelly added. “They think Trump was screwed out of his last election, that he screwed out of his first term by all the craziness, the Russiagate, and so on, and they think he’s entitled, he deserves another shot at it.”
“The hardcore Trump faithful is unshakable,” the journalist continued. “They liked DeSantis, but they would never cross Trump for him, and they think that DeSantis owes his political career to Trump.”
“If forced to choose, they will choose Trump,” Kelly said. “DeSantis can’t take him down. It’s like the line in ‘War Games,’ the only winning move is not to play. DeSantis has got to either be crowned by Trump or he shouldn’t run. He won’t win over Trump.”
Kelly concluded her argument, emphatically stating, “I’ll stand by that. You can play it against me if I’m wrong, but I won’t be.”