Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday ruled out the idea of running on a ticket with former President Donald Trump in November.
Earlier this week, Trump said during a Fox News town hall event that DeSantis was on a “short list” of potential running mates he was considering.
Other options, Trump said, were Vivek Ramaswamy, former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
DeSantis was on a conference call Wednesday, and the New York Post obtained a copy of it. On the call, DeSantis shot down the idea of running alongside Trump.
“People were mentioning me [as a potential vice president]. I am not doing that,” DeSantis said.
The comment was made to other Republicans his former presidential campaign had courted as delegates for this summer’s Republican National Convention, the Post reported.
DeSantis went on to discuss who he thinks might run with Trump, should the former president become the GOP nominee.
“I know some people are really actively seeking [the VP slot],” DeSantis said, according to the Post. “It seems to me, just from watching kind of the body language and stuff, that you have a handful of folks who seem to be auditioning for it.”
DeSantis then shared how he would pick a running mate if he were at the top of this year’s presidential ticket.
Would Ron DeSantis have been a good running-mate choice?
“I think my criteria [for a running mate] was different than what probably Donald Trump’s criteria will be,” said DeSantis, who dropped out of the race in January.
DeSantis, 45, continued:
“My criteria was, basically, I need someone who can do the job if it came to that, and I would have been the third-youngest president elected, so chances are, actuarially, I would probably be in pretty good shape, but you never know what else can happen.”
The governor added that whoever is chosen as a running mate must be ready on “day one.”
He also said that if his campaign had succeeded, he likely would have chosen another governor as his running mate.
DeSantis also shared some thoughts about how he thinks the process is playing out for Trump and his advisers in regard to how to pick someone to place at the bottom of the ticket.
“I’m not sure that those are necessarily going to be the criteria that Donald Trump uses,” DeSantis said. “I think he’s going to probably use different criteria. I’ve heard that they are looking more at identity politics.”
“I think that’s a mistake,” DeSantis concluded. “I think you should just focus on who you think the best person for the job would be.”
DeSantis suspended his presidential campaign after the Iowa caucuses.
During Wednesday’s call, DeSantis also did not rule out the possibility of running again in 2028.
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