DeSantis praises Trump, talks ‘good relationship’ in new book ahead of potential GOP primary clash: report

Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., reflected on his “good relationship” with former President Trump throughout his campaign in an upcoming book set to be released next week.

Titled “The Courage to be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival,” DeSantis’ book discusses his rise to being elected governor of Florida and his “blueprint” for America, as he remains a front-runner in the battle for the 2024 GOP nomination against Trump.

Over the past few months, DeSantis has taken a slew of insults from the former president as the pair appear to be headed toward a 2024 GOP presidential primary showdown. Trump has already launched his White House campaign, while DeSantis is rumored to be considering a run but has not announced it yet. 

In his book, DeSantis praised Trump’s “unique star power” that he believes helped him win the 2016 presidential race.

“Trump also brought a unique star power to the race,” DeSantis’ book reads, as first reported by the Guardian. “If someone had asked me, as a kid growing up in the eighties and nineties, to name someone who was rich, I – and probably nearly all my friends – would have responded by naming Donald Trump.”

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Trump recently ramped up attacks on DeSantis, calling him a “Rhino globalist” and nicknaming him “Ron DeSanctimonious,” but the Florida governor’s book defends Trump’s rise in the GOP as tapping into what conservative voters wanted from their leaders.

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“Some DC commentators have opined that Donald Trump’s nomination represented a hostile takeover of the Republican Party. But this analysis gets it exactly backward,” DeSantis wrote.

“Since Ronald Reagan flew back to California on January 20, 1989, the GOP grass roots had been longing for someone who rejected the old-guard way of doing business and who could speak to their concerns and aspirations. Trump supported policies that appealed to the base in a way that GOP leaders in the DC swamp had been either incapable of doing or unwilling to do,” he wrote.

DeSantis wrote about how voters were “very upset” with former House Speaker Paul Ryan after he pulled his endorsement of Trump in 2016.

On several occasions, Trump has claimed his endorsement of DeSantis in 2020 is the only reason the current governor won the seat and because of this, he should refrain from running for president next cycle.

DeSantis said that while Trump’s endorsement helped put his campaign on the map, his hinted that his record was what ultimately appealed to voters. 

“I knew that a Trump endorsement would provide me with the exposure to GOP primary voters across the State of Florida, and I was confident that many would see me as a good candidate once they learned about my record,” the book reads.

 

“I had developed a good relationship with the president largely because I supported his initiatives in Congress and opposed the Russia collusion conspiracy theory,” DeSantis said.

“The Courage to be Free” is set to be published Feb. 28.