Just hours after Ron DeSantis finally ended his presidential bid on Sunday, Donald Trump said it’s “highly unlikely” he’d appoint the Florida governor to his cabinet if he returns to the White House.
Instead, Trump indicated in an interview with Fox News that he’d likely opt to appoint “great people that have been with me right from the beginning.”
Trump’s statement came after DeSantis caved and threw his support behind the former president, who has spent the last year incessantly insulting him and his personality—an endorsement Trump said he “was honored” to receive.
“Look, it’s not easy,” Trump said of DeSantis dropping out. “He fought hard, spent a lot of money.”
Trump added that he “didn’t see a path” to the presidency for DeSantis, saying his ex-rival ultimately “did the right thing” in endorsing him. Trump didn’t completely rule out the possibility of working with DeSantis in the future, however, saying “everything’s a possibility.”
In his Fox News interview, Trump took on a different tone when talking about DeSantis than he’s had at recent rallies and TV spots. He said DeSantis, who he endorsed for Florida governor in 2018, has similar policy priorities to him—like maintaining a strong military, border, and issuing tax cuts.
With DeSantis out of the way, Trump has turned his attention to Nikki Haley, who still trails the former president considerably in a majority of the national polls, most of which were conducted while DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy were still in the race.
New Hampshire is the next state up in the GOP primary slate, and is expected to provide a clearer picture of the gap between Haley and Trump once votes are tallied on Tuesday.
Trump said Sunday that, like DeSantis, he does not “see a path” for Haley to make it to the White House—painting himself as being the only Republican who can take down Joe Biden, despite losing to him handily in 2020.
