Ron DeSantis asks people to 'chill' about a potential rivalry with Trump

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) downplayed the idea of a feud between him and former President Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying people "just need to chill out a little bit."

DeSantis was asked during a news conference about Trump's Tuesday night announcement that he intends to run for president in 2024. For now, he said, the focus needs to be off any beef between him and Trump and on the Dec. 6 Georgia Senate runoff race between Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) and Republican Herschel Walker. This is "very important for Republicans to win," DeSantis said.

It's long been speculated that DeSantis plans on entering the 2024 presidential race, and during an October debate with Democratic challenger Charlie Crist he would not commit to serving out his full gubernatorial term if re-elected. DeSantis easily won a second term on Nov. 8, and on Wednesday called this "the biggest bright spot" of the midterms. "It was not so bright in many other parts of the country," he added. "It was a substandard performance given the dynamics that are at play."

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DeSantis was a strong Trump supporter, and touted his loyalty to him when running for governor in 2018, releasing an ad where he calls himself "Pitbull Trump Defender" and puts his baby in a "Make America Great Again" onesie. Trump did not return the favor this election cycle, going to Florida to stump for Republicans like Sen. Marco Rubio but not DeSantis. Trump, who recently dubbed DeSantis "Ron DeSanctimonious" and called him "average" and "desperate," reminded his followers on Truth Social about DeSantis' fealty, sharing the ad and writing, "Thanks, Ron!"

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.