Donald Trump’s Chance of Being Re-Elected ‘Close to Zero’ If Convicted, Ron DeSantis Once Said

Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida who was also competing for the Republican nomination in 2024, was once skeptical that former president Donald Trump could be re-elected if he were to be found guilty in current legal proceedings. “I think the chance of getting elected president after being convicted of a felony is as 'close to zero' as it can get,” DeSantis said in an exclusive interview with CBS News. Trump faces a total of 91 crimes in four separate lawsuits, two of which were brought in federal court in Washington and Florida and two in state courts in New York and Georgia.

“I didn’t think even before all this that the president, the former president, should have run again,” DeSantis stated in the interview. “There’s too many voters, who, he’s a dealbreaker for them.” As per NBC News, DeSantis made the above comments after CBS News anchor Norah O'Donnell asked him whether he agreed with fellow Republican presidential candidate and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley's contention that voters won't support a convicted felon.

The host also questioned DeSantis about his opinion on whether voters would even pick Trump after the myriad charges against him. As per AP News, DeSantis, who was then still running against the former president and was in second place, had progressively been more critical of him, but the Florida governor eventually joined nearly all of the other GOP candidates in pledging their support to Trump as the party's nominee in the event of his conviction.

Meanwhile, Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign gave a response, "DeSantis knows he has no shot of ever becoming the nominee — he is slipping to third place after all — but cozying up to Never Trumpers and lunatic Democrats is an all-time low for him, almost as low as his poll numbers." 

In a different incident, as per a report by Politico in late 2023, top officials in Florida's GOP removed a provision in the state bylaws that required any contender wishing to be on the ballot to promise devotion to the eventual GOP nominee after pressure from Trump's supporters. As per the outlet, this 'was not only a win for Trump’s campaign' but also seemed to signify that DeSantis 'no longer enjoys an iron-clad grip over the state party.'

State Sen. Joe Gruters, the former chair of the Florida GOP and a Trump supporter, also felt that without this change, the Republican party in the state would 'cease to exist.' Gruters stated, "It’s not about the pledge. It’s about creating unnecessary roadblocks late in the game that makes it perceived that it’s anti-President Trump." Similarly, Ed Shoemaker of the Polk County GOP, said, "People will be pissed if we keep Trump off the ballot." 

This article was originally published on 09.16.23.