A Convicted Trump “Would Be Fatal in a General Election”: DeSantis Says Trump’s Nomination Could Destroy the GOP

Amy LewisNov 6, 2023

Minute Read

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis expressed concern on Thursday that his main opponent Donald Trump’s conviction would bode disaster for the Republican Party’s chances in 2024, but he also reaffirmed his support for Trump should he be selected as the GOP nominee.

“That Will Not Happen”: DeSantis’ Trust in Republican Voters

“Do I think somebody under those circumstances could get elected president? The answer is no,” DeSantis, who is running against Trump for the Republican nomination, responded. “That will not happen. I think that Republican voters will understand that as we get closer to voting. But it is — it would be fatal in a general election, and I don’t think the party should — should nominate in that situation.”

DeSantis Pledges to Support Whoever the Party Chooses

DeSantis, who is now lagging Trump in Republican voter surveys, stated that he would honor his promise to back the party’s nominee in 2024 even if he still thinks the party would lose if a guilty Donald Trump was chosen.

Will DeSantis Still Maintain Support if Trump Is Convicted?

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“Governor, at that August debate when the question was put to the entire panel, if Donald Trump is convicted, will you still — and he is the nominee, would you still support him? And you raised your hand,” questioned MSNBC’s Willie Geist. “Do you really believe that a man who’s convicted of, say, attempting to overturn the 2020 election, or taking nuclear secrets back to his beach club, do you actually still, as we sit here today, believe that person should be president?”

“I Signed the Pledge. I’m a Republican”

“So I signed a pledge, Willie, and that pledge is what it is,” DeSantis said, implying that he never anticipated Trump would be the nominee and that he still doesn’t, despite what the polls have repeatedly shown about the attitudes of Republican voters. “I signed the pledge. I’m a Republican. I don’t think it’s going to come to that, and I think we’ll be — we’ll get the job done like we need to, but the reality is I signed it, and that’s what I did.”

Would DeSantis’ Pledge End up Biting Him in the Back?

Along with the other Republican contenders for 2024 who took part in the party’s debates, DeSantis promised to support the ultimate nominee, whomever that might be.

“You Never Know What’s Going to Happen”

“When I signed the pledge, you know, I knew — you never know what’s going to happen,” DeSantis declared. “It’s a crazy process. People make different decisions. And I think my point of view on it was, you know, I’m participating in this process. I’ve got the plan to win. We’re going to win.”

DeSantis Disappointed Trump’s Indictments “Sucked Out the Oxygen” for Candidates Hoping to Beat Him

DeSantis continued by saying that, in his opinion, Trump’s four indictments have invigorated the Republican base and “sucked out the oxygen” for contenders wanting to unseat him in the primary race. When we got into the race, we were bracing for these indictments. I think it’s helped him. I think it sucked out the oxygen. We knew it was going to be a brutal summer,” DeSantis stated.

Governor Points Out That “Biden Is Failing”

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He then added, “At the same time, it’s like you can’t just take your ball and go home. You can’t out of the one side of your mouth say, ‘The country’s in decline, Biden is failing,’ and then on the other hand say, you know, ‘I’m just going to pout if things don’t go my way.’”

The Four Indictments Issued Against Trump

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Trump has not signed that vow, having sat out the only two debates held thus far. The 77-year-old former president is accused of 91 crimes covering four separate indictments. These crimes include hush money payments, attempted attempts to rig the Georgia election, stockpiling national security documents, and plans to stay in office beyond his defeat in the 2020 election.

Trial Set to Begin the Day Before Super Tuesday Primary Contests

In response to all of the ongoing allegations against him, Trump has pled not guilty and declared his innocence. Right now, the four-count indictment in the federal 2020 election case is the first criminal case scheduled for trial. On March 4, the day before the Super Tuesday main events, that trial is scheduled to start.

Trump Camp Throws Dirt Back on DeSantis

DeSantis has previously highlighted Trump’s electoral shortcomings while denouncing the barrage of accusations leveled against him. In response, the Trump administration made fun of DeSantis’ choice to appear on the consistently left-leaning cable network.

“Tiny D Has Gone Full Never Trump”

“The transformation is complete. Tiny D has gone full Never Trump, campaigning for Republican primary votes on Morning Joe/MSDNC,” Trump adviser Jason Miller tweeted on X in reaction to DeSantis’ comments.

DeSantis’ Recent Venture Into Unfriendly Media Territory

Before the 2016 election, Trump frequently appeared on “Morning Joe,” but after he said in December 2015 that immigration from Muslim nations would no longer be allowed to enter the US, many lost interest in him. In his quest for the party nomination, DeSantis has been going into hostile media space in recent weeks, including appearances on CNN and MSNBC.

DeSantis’ Long-Held Lock on Second Place

With a 45.9 percentage-point nationwide lead over DeSantis, Trump is the clear Republican front-runner, according to the most recent RealClearPolitics polling aggregate. The 45-year-old governor of the Sunshine State has long held a commanding lead, but new polls show that former South Carolina governor and US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley is gaining ground.

We Can’t Keep Living This Way. We Can’t Do That.

Haley said that she would honor her promise to support the GOP nominee the next year. Haley stated on “The Daily Show” on Wednesday, “We all signed a pledge saying that we would vote for the nominee.” “We can’t keep living this way. We can’t do that.”

Haley Confident “Anybody Would Be Better Than Joe Biden, but It’s Going to Be Me”

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“I’ll tell you right now, at this point, anybody would be better than Joe Biden, but it’s going to be me,” she said. “And I’m going to make sure that we go and do what we need to to get American families back on track again.”

DeSantis Expresses How He Wants to “Win for People”

“We are not going to win as Republicans, Joe, by adopting the strategy that Biden did, being in the basement during the 2020 campaign. That’s effectively what Donald Trump’s doing,” DeSantis declared to “Morning Joe.” “Donald Trump is perceived by Republicans as a fighter, but I also want to win for people. That means winning elections, but also means winning on these policy fights.”