Trump Goes After ‘Very Disloyal’ DeSantis and Haley for Flirting With 2024 Bids: She Said, ‘I Would Never Run Against My President’
Former President Donald Trump kicked off his presidential campaign in earnest Saturday and blasted a pair of his potential rivals who are flirting with 2024 bids of their own.
Speaking to reporters on his campaign plane Saturday (in footage aired on CNN), the former president went after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) — in an apparent effort to keep them from jumping into the 2024 field.
“Ron would have not been governor if it wasn’t for me,” Trump said of DeSantis — in an oft-repeated refrain. “When I hear that he might run, I consider that very disloyal.”
Trump held the first major events since his 2024 announcement on Saturday — delivering speeches in Concord, NH and Columbia, SC. A poll from New Hampshire earlier this week showed the Florida governor ahead of Trump by double digits in the key first-in-the-nation primary state — although Trump holds a solid lead over DeSantis nationally in most major polls.
Haley, in recent days, has been openly speculating about throwing her hat into the ring for 2024. Trump noted previous comments from Haley in which she said she would not run if the former president did. In his remarks to reporters on Saturday, Trump seemed to dare Haley to enter the fray.
“I talked to her for a little while,” Trump said. “But I said ‘Look, go by your heart, if you wanna run.’ She’s publicly said, ‘I would never run against my president. He was a great president
