With 2024 and its presidential election fast approaching, everyone is talking about a possible Donald Trump vs. Florida’s Ron DeSantis primary race. And while that may not even happen, California liberal and governor Gavin Newsom has ideas on how that race will play out.
According to a recent interview, Newsom spoke with former White House press secretary turned MSNBC anchor Jen Psaki. The two discussed the Republican primary, noting it could pit Trump against DeSantis.
And Newsom thinks DeSantis will “get rolled by Trump.”
“He’s going to get rolled by Trump. Trump’s just going to roll him. Thumped.”
He continued, giving some advice to DeSantis and his possible 2024 plans.
“Honestly, if I were offering him political advice, I’d tell him to pack up and wait a few years.” Then, “come back as a more seasoned and capable leader with a little humility.”
Now, of course, there could be some ulterior motivation going on here. Newsom himself has been seen as a possible 2024 contender, especially if Biden decides not to run for whatever reason. Obviously, a big hitter like DeSantis could damage his intentions for the Oval Office.
Hell, Newsom has even set himself up as what could be DeSantis’ chief rival come 2024 or 2028. In the same interview, Newsom described DeSantis as a weak bully and a leader who could never hack it on a national stage.
But whatever his reasoning for telling DeSantis to wait, there may be some truth to how DeSantis would do against Trump.
In a number of polls, Trump is by and far the leader. And not by just a little.
FiveThirtyEight has the former president ahead by a whopping 23 points. Reuters gives Trump an even bigger lead, at 29 points ahead of DeSantis. Even more conservative pollsters like Trafalgar Group show Trump winning by 11 points.
In any case, none of those are exactly easy-to-conquer numbers for DeSantis.
Then again, with Trump’s indictment case still not completely finalized, it’s hard to tell exactly how this will play out. Plus, it’s not like a lot can’t happen between now and 2024 when the primaries will occur.
In any case, it will be interesting to see what DeSantis will choose and if Newsom is correct.
