Bill Barr, a former senior Trump administration official, said he thinks Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will beat Donald Trump in a potential race to become the Republican presidential nominee in 2024 if a “must bet” .
“I don’t know much about Ron DeSantis, but I’m impressed with his record in Florida,” the former attorney general said on an episode with reporter Bari Weiss. honestly The podcast was released Thursday.
“My view is that I’m going to support whoever is most likely to push Trump aside,” he added.
Mr. Barr, one of the few Trump allies to publicly refute the former president’s false claim that he won the 2020 election, tore up his old boss, arguing that Mr. Trump is “all about himself” and that the re-election campaign will It is “for the continued hostility at home.”
The former attorney general said he would support Mr Trump over progressive Democrats, but was not happy.
“I don’t like that option,” he said. “It’s the lesser of two evils. We have to learn more about some these investigations, but I won’t say I won’t vote for Trump, I’ll sit back and be happy that progressive Democrats won. “
The former president has not lost his love for his former attorney general, labelling him RINO, short for a Republican in name only.
“Former AG Bill Barr, if anything, is a RINO without the courage or stamina to go after voter fraud — fearing he’ll be impeached,” Mr Trump wrote June on social media. “There is no glory without courage!!!”
Neither Mr Trump nor Mr DeSantis have announced plans to run again in 2024, but the pair have been the subject of constant speculation about the presidential ambitions for the next cycle.
Mr. DeSantis has been accused of airing an episode in recent weeks Top Gun—Inspired a campaign ad in the 2022 Florida gubernatorial race and echoed Trump-esque rhetoric in recent days, slamming the left for so-called “”wake up“Agenda and Fantasy Throwing”that elf“Dr. Anthony Fauci “Through the Potomac”.
Political observers called Mr DeSantis a “shadow raceThe 2024 nomination for the expected incumbent was mentioned at the same time as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who released a campaign-style ad slamming Mr. DeSantis in his hometown.
Recent polls show DeSantis as the only Republican who could run against Trump in the 2024 primary.
a pollOn Friday, he found DeSantis to be more competitive than Trump in a hypothetical election with Joe Biden, even though both would ultimately lose to Democrats.
Another finding, released earlier this week, that Mr Trump was more popular with Republican voters Mr. Beeder Sandis, though no longer has a majority in the Republican Party.
