Ron DeSantis has ‘no regrets’ about ’24 run, says people told him to run because they didn’t think Donald Trump could win

Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to defend the most high-profile defeat of his political career, roughly two years after he withdrew from the 2024 presidential race having spent more than $160 million to compete in one state and not win a single county.

“You know, you have no regrets in life. You just live and you go forward,” he told podcaster Julio Rosas in an interview released Tuesday, discussing the campaign against Donald Trump.

DeSantis also suggested that some people who urged him to run did so because they thought Trump was not viable.

“A lot of the people that have criticized me for running privately asked me to run, because they didn’t think President Trump could win again. And there (were) reasons to do that,” DeSantis said.

He didn’t specify what those reasons were, and Rosas didn’t press him on the subject with a follow-up.

DeSantis did detail an affirmative case for his candidacy, saying his record in Florida was unmatched as a model for conservatives nationally, especially when it came to defeating the opposition.

“Nobody has been able to take an electorate that was 50/50 and turn it decisively red better than what we’ve done in Florida. Nobody has ever been able to neuter the left better than what we’ve done,” he said.

“Think of what we’ve done. Teachers unions neutered, trial lawyer lobby neutered. Liberal professors no longer running the show at our universities. And so what I think we need, what we need in Florida, what we need in other states, is really understanding that the left, ultimately, if they are able to maintain control of every institution, we are not going to be successful. And so Florida’s really the model for being able to neuter the left and making sure that we have an ability to have freedom.”

In January 2024, DeSantis had different messaging after leaving the GOP Primary race, saying many Trump supporters stuck with the man from Mar-a-Lago out of obligation.

“When I was in Iowa, a lot of these folks that stuck with the President were very supportive of what I’ve done in Florida. They thought I was a good candidate,” DeSantis said. “I even had people say they think that I would even do better as President, but they felt that they owed Trump another shot. And so I think we really made a strong impression. Most of the people that supported me, whether activists, whether volunteers, whether fundraisers, you know, they’re all on board, you know, for what the future holds. So we’ll be active.”

More recently, DeSantis has said he’s “not thinking about anything” regarding 2028, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio emerges as the second-choice to Vice President JD Vance in polls and betting markets.

DeSantis remained coy about another White House run during the interview released Tuesday, saying “there’ll be a lot of different things potentially out there.”

“But I’m very content here. I’m certainly not. I have my eye on nothing in particular. I am just doing my job,” he added.