Ron DeSantis Once Said That Donald Trump’s Chance of Being Re-Elected Is ‘Close to Zero’ if Convicted

Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida and who was also the front-runner for the Republican nomination for President in 2024 was then skeptical that former president Donald Trump could be re-elected if he is found guilty in the 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.

She also questioned DeSantis about his opinion on whether voters would pick Trump, who is now charged with 91 crimes. As per AP News, DeSantis, who was running against the former president and was in second place, had progressively been more critical of him. He joined nearly all of the other GOP candidates in pledging their support for front-runner Donald Trump as the party's nominee in the event of his conviction.

Meanwhile, Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign has given a response saying, "Team DeSantis and Always Back Down were caught red-handed as one of their lawyers was outed as the mastermind of falsely trying to use the 14th Amendment to disenfranchise voters and interfere in the election." As per Politico, the most recent Florida election between Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump came down to a loyalty oath.

A provision in the state bylaws of the Republican Party of Florida that required any contender wishing to be on the ballot for the March 19 presidential primary to promise devotion to the eventual GOP nominee was removed under pressure from Trump supporters.

State senator Joe Gruters, a Trump supporter and the former Florida GOP chairman stated, “It’s not about the pledge,” Gruters said. “It’s about creating unnecessary roadblocks late in the game that makes it perceived that it’s anti-President Trump.” He also alleged that the Florida party would suffer if the adjustment wasn't made because Trump supporters would be angry, and that "the Republican Party of Florida would cease to exist." During the meeting, Polk County GOP member Ed Shoemaker declared, "People will be pissed if we keep Trump off the ballot."

Editor's note: This article was originally published on September 16, 2023. It has since been updated.