Former President Donald Trump suggested in an interview with Fox News that aired on Monday that he'll get Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' voters' support ahead of the New Hampshire primaries.
Trump, speaking with Fox News' Lawrence Jones, said he was "honored" to be endorsed by DeSantis, saying both men had similar platforms.
"I think it sort of magnifies, if I can say that, because he and I – look, I want strong borders, he wanted strong borders. I wanted low taxes. I gave you the largest tax cut in history, nobody ever, bigger than the Ronald Reagan tax cut, he wants that. I want a strong military. He wants that. He doesn’t want wars, although I may be a little bit moreso on that, not wanting wars," Trump said on Sunday, comparing himself with DeSantis. "We have wars in places that nobody ever heard of before. And we’re losing, you know you talk about blood and wealth, we lose so stupidly. And a lot of the things he wanted, I wanted. In fact, I noticed people’s commentary, they’re saying well all of those people that would be for him, would be for Trump."
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"And so I was honored that he endorsed me this quickly. It’s not easy. Look, it’s not easy. He fought hard, spent a lot of money, and a lot of people thought he’d do well," Trump said of the Florida governor. "You know I was leading from the beginning, just so you understand. And I did very well in Florida, more votes in Florida than anybody ever got. But he was doing well, and I think he did the right thing. I mean, look, I could talk about somebody else’s campaign. I didn’t see a path. I don’t see a path for her at all."
"I think those people will all come to me," he said, referring to DeSantis supporters.
In his message backing out of the race Sunday, DeSantis deemed, "Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear," while also taking a parting swipe at Nikki Haley.
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"I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee, and I will honor that pledge. He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents," DeSantis said.
Meanwhile, Haley, who remains in the race against Trump ahead of the New Hampshire primaries Tuesday, told Fox News of DeSantis' supporters, "I think his supporters are up for grabs. Think about it. His supporters love America, and they wanted a new generational leader. We give them that."
In the interview, Trump addressed how given he endorsed DeSantis for governor, he was "disappointed" when DeSantis first teased he'd enter the 2024 presidential race. Of the prospect of naming DeSantis his vice presidential running mate or to another cabinet position, Trump said, "Well, it’s probably unlikely, but I have to be honest, everything’s a possibility, but I think it’s highly unlikely. I have a lot of great people, and I have great people who have been with me right from the beginning."
Jones also asked Trump if he would consider Haley as a potential running mate.
"I don't know, I mean, I just can't say it, but I don't want to rule people out. There's no reason to rule people out, but I think it's highly unlikely. Um, I will say this. A lot of people in the base, MAGA is 90, 95%. You have some RINOs left, but they're like, on a resuscitator, you know what a resuscitator is? You probably don’t, but they're, you know, barely breathing. So we'll see what happens," Trump said. "I think that we're going to have a tremendous Tuesday and we're going to have a great result, just like we did in Iowa."
"I would say that with Nikki, I haven't done anything. I'm very upset with her. She said ‘I would never run. He was a great president.’ I would know she worked for me, like, for two and a half years. And she was okay, not great. She was okay. But she said to everybody, in fact, when she left, ‘I would never run against the president. He was a great president,’" Trump added.
Trump also went after President Biden, referencing how Biden recently admitted to Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich that he does not believe the border is secure.
"Isn't amazing that Biden for three years has been trying to justify the invasion of our country, the destruction of our country. And you know what? Yesterday, for the first time, I said, did you see this interview? Because, you know, when he gets up to interview people, he has not too much idea where the hell he is, but he actually said, no, the border is not safe," Trump said. "I couldn't believe it. He finally said that after 15 million people poured into our country. Because I think the real number is probably-- it's going to be 15 million by the time he's finished destroying our country, and we're going to have the largest deportation because you cannot --there's just no way it can be justified, Lawrence. There's no way it's sustainable. It is not a sustainable situation. Our border is the worst border in the history of the world, I believe. I believe it's the most unsafe border. There's never been a border in history for any country, including third world countries and banana republics. So that's again, that's a stage beyond third world, okay, that's been anywhere near this. This is a disaster for our country."
