Trump official makes startling claim about Ron DeSantis

Ken Cuccinelli

There’s no doubt that Trump and DeSantis are the strongest candidates for President. It’s going to get heated between those two.

Especially because a Trump official just made this startling claim about Ron DeSantis.

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is being urged to run for president in 2024 by a political action committee that was established by a former Trump aide.

Former Virginia Attorney General and Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli claimed to have spoken with “grassroots conservative activists” who are excited about a DeSantis campaign.

“The energy is there, grassroots conservatives see the Governor as a leader and a fighter with a winning conservative track record who will lead the Republican Party to victory in 2024,” Cuccinelli stated in a press statement announcing the launch of the Never Back Down PAC.

“Based on those conversations, I am most confident that we will build an unmatched grassroots political army for Governor DeSantis to help carry him to the White House.”

Cuccinelli, a constitutional lawyer who worked for the Trump administration from 2019 to 2021, said Fox News Digital that DeSantis is the best candidate for the nation from a “America first perspective” which is why he decided to support him.

“What’s best for America? I conclude pretty easily that Governor DeSantis is the best Republican executive that we’ve had in decades and is exactly the person who can best lead us not only to win in 24 but to lead well as president, to be a great president,” Cuccinelli told reporters, adding that DeSantis is the “strongest Republican available.”

“He is just head and shoulders above the rest of the field in that respect, so this isn’t negative to anybody else; it’s just a recognition of how good Governor DeSantis is.”

While “lots of people make noise,” few, according to Cuccinelli, have had the “positive impact” DeSantis seems to have in Florida.

Florida, the third-largest state and the nation’s largest swing state, has already reached this conclusion, according to Cuccinelli, speaking to Fox News.

Cuccinelli used DeSantis’ actions to revoke Disney’s special status in the state in response to allegations that the firm was becoming intimately involved in politics as proof that the governor “never backs down.”

Several political observers anticipate that DeSantis will be preparing a 2024 presidential bid, which puts him in conflict with Trump, who announced his intention to run for president again in November.

Since Trump’s announcement, he has attacked DeSantis repeatedly, even giving him the moniker “Ron DeSanctimonious,” while the governor has refrained from taking direct aim but has frequently responded to Trump’s insults.

In a Fox News poll conducted in the middle of February, Republican voters preferred Trump to DeSantis by a 43% to 28% edge, just before Trump defeated DeSantis by a 60% to 20% majority in the straw poll held by the Conservative Political Action Conference in early March.

According to more recent polls, more Republicans want DeSantis to lead the party, and Cuccinelli told Fox News Digital that no other Republican had DeSantis’ “crossover pull” “without moving an inch away from his conservative principles.”

While some polls show DeSantis over Trump, and others showing Trump over DeSantis, it’s clear that they are the frontrunners.

And the Democrats are going to have to compete against a strong candidate in either of them.

Stay tuned to the Federalist Wire.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR