Newly obtained video from 2018 shows then-candidate Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) grappling with how to deal with questions about disagreements with then-President Trump, saying he needs to “frame it in a way that’s not going to piss off all his voters.”
In the videos, reportedly showing debate prep for his first campaign for governor in 2018, first obtained by ABC News, DeSantis is asked whether he disagrees with Trump on any issues.
“Obviously there is because, I mean, I voted contrary to him in the Congress,” DeSantis answered. He then mulled over the task of appealing to Trump’s base, saying “I have to frame it in a way that’s not going to piss off all his voters.”
DeSantis said in the video that if asked the question, he would respond by saying “I do what I think is right — I support his agenda in terms of what he’s been able to do.”
“If I have a disagreement, I talk to him in private,” DeSantis said.
The videos offer a rare look into DeSantis’s previous thinking on how to handle questions about the former president. It is a challenge that DeSantis, who garnered the support of Trump in the 2018 Florida Republican primary, will face if he jumps into the 2024 Republican race for the White House, which he is expected to do.
Trump, who is the frontrunner for the GOP nomination, has already clashed with DeSantis, who is seen as his main 2024 Republican rival, before the Florida governor even announced a campaign.
Trump has slammed DeSantis’s tenure as governor of Florida, the state where the former president lives. DeSantis has criticized Trump’s leadership style, but has largely steered clear of confronting Trump head on so far, as many other Republicans have.