Florida governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis (R) says that he is "fully prepared" to faceoff against California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) should Newsom end up replacing Biden as the Democrats' 2024 presidential nominee.
DeSantis said as much, according to the Daily Caller, during the Blaze Media Summit that was held on Friday.
There, DeSantis was interviewed by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
DeSantis's remark - that he is ready to face off against Newsom should Newsom replace Biden as the Democrats' 2024 presidential nominee - came after Carlson asked DeSantis whether DeSantis believes that Biden will actually be the Democrats' nominee.
In response to Carlson's question, DeSantis, at first, seemed to suggest that he does believe Biden will be the Democrats' 2024 nominee.
"Honestly, I go back and forth because it’s an incumbent president, and unless he’s willing to step aside, I don’t think they can get him out of there," DeSantis said.
It was after this that DeSantis said that he is ready to face off against Newsom should Newsom end up replacing Biden.
DeSantis said:
On the other hand, I’m fully prepared to have a Florida-California showdown and let the people choose what’s the better vision for the United States of America because I’m very confident that the freedom in Florida is what more people would choose rather than the public defecation on the streets of San Francisco.
DeSantis's remark about San Francisco comes after he recently visited the city, witnessing its homelessness and drug problems. As the Daily Caller notes, "Residents have reportedly complained of the inconveniences brought forth by the large homeless population, among them being defecation, harassment, open-air drug use, frequent car break-ins, and theft."
The question that Carlson put to DeSantis - whether Biden will actually be the Democrats' 2024 presidential nominee - is a serious one.
CNN just published a report indicating that Biden's lack of campaign activity is causing many Democrat donors and insiders to look for a 2024 candidate to replace Biden.
The report states:
The conversations keep happening – quiet whispers on the sidelines of events, texts, emails, furtive phone calls – as top Democrats and donors reach out to those seen as possible replacement presidential candidates. Get ready, they urge, in conversations that aides to several of the people involved have described to CNN: Despite what he has said, despite the campaign that has been announced, President Joe Biden won’t actually be running for reelection.
Newsom would certainly be one of the top Democrats to replace Biden should Biden choose not to run. At the moment, Newsom has chosen not to enter the 2024 race for the presidency. But, many suspect that he will at some point.
Meanwhile, Biden's 2024 team insists that not only is he running but that he will be reelected in 2024.
