Pompeo tweets support for DeSantis after Trump chides governor
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted support for fellow rumored 2024 GOP contender Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) after former President Trump nicknamed him “Ron DeSanctimonious” at a Saturday rally.
“Not tired of winning. @GovRonDeSantis you’ve proven conservative policies work. Florida is better for it. Vote for @GovRonDeSantis,” Pompeo wrote, although he did not explicitly reference Trump’s remark earlier in the evening.
Trump uttered the nickname during a rally he held in Latrobe, Pa., in support of Pennsylvania Republican Senate nominee Mehmet Oz and gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano, both of whom are facing competitive races and were endorsed by Trump in their primaries.
The former president showed rallygoers a recent survey of the 2024 GOP presidential contest that indicated Trump had 71 percent support, far ahead of DeSantis, former Vice President Pence and other Republicans.
“We’re winning big, big, big in the Republican Party for the nomination like nobody’s ever seen before,” Trump said. “Let’s see, there it is: Trump at 71. Ron DeSanctimonious at 10 percent. Mike Pence at 7 — oh, Mike’s doing better than I thought.”
Axios reported on Friday that Trump’s team is considering launching a 2024 presidential bid on Nov. 14, and Trump at the rally himself suggested he would make an announcement “very soon.”
The former president is slated to hold a rally in Florida late Sunday afternoon, but the event announcement only mentioned an appearance by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and did not name DeSantis, who also faces reelection in the state this week.
DeSantis and Rubio are likely to win their races, and both are viewed as potential 2024 GOP contenders in addition to Pompeo and others.
Pompeo, who served in Congress before becoming Trump’s secretary of state, has visited the early primary state of New Hampshire and rolled out an advertisement in June that ran in Iowa and South Carolina, both of which have historically also held early contests in the primary season.
He is also slated to release a book detailing his foreign policy work that comes out on Jan. 24, 2023, one of many rumored presidential contenders who will publish a book in the coming months.
But DeSantis is perhaps Trump’s most formidable opponent in a 2024 primary, according to recent polling.
The Florida governor has leaned into the culture wars and has grown his national presence by campaigning for Republicans in key battleground races, including those who won their primaries in part with Trump’s backing.
As Trump on Saturday nicknamed DeSantis, like Trump often did with past rivals, the former president notably did not utter nicknames when he listed other polled GOP candidates.
“Tim Scott is great by the way,” Trump said of the South Carolina GOP senator as he also praised Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
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