DeSantis, in Private Call, Sounds Off on Trump and Conservative News Media

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida told supporters in a call on Wednesday that he would not want to be Donald J. Trump’s vice president, suggested it would be a “mistake” for Mr. Trump to consider “identity politics” in making his selection for a running mate and left wide open the door to a 2028 presidential run.

“I haven’t ruled anything out,” Mr. DeSantis said of a 2028 presidential run, as he outlined plans to stay involved in politics beyond Florida.

In a more than 30-minute call held to thank backers who had volunteered to serve as his presidential delegates, the governor was unusually candid in assessing his failed 2024 campaign a month after he dropped out of the race. He also sounded off on conservative news media outlets that he said had backed the former president over him.

He also spoke about “all the baggage Trump has” as a concern for Republicans headed into the fall, but said that President Biden was “going to be the gift that keeps on giving.”

And he expressed no regrets about his run for the party’s presidential nomination, though he was frustrated that “the race ended up being an incumbent race.”

“The dynamics of the race were, he kept getting indicted, and he drew more support out of sympathy for that,” Mr. DeSantis said of Mr. Trump at one point.

At another, Mr. DeSantis claimed: “If it was really just eight, 10 Republicans who, who had never obviously been president, unlike Trump, I think we would have run away with it.”

The New York Times obtained a recording of the call, which was first reported on by The New York Post.

At one point, Mr. DeSantis lacerated Mr. Trump’s record as president, saying he had failed to deliver on many campaign promises.

“I was in Congress the first two years when Trump was president,” Mr. DeSantis said. “I mean, we didn’t really do what we said we would do. You didn’t see any major immigration, border or any type of legislation. You didn’t see anything with repealing and replacing Obamacare. You didn’t see anything about reining in the bureaucracy. I mean, it was pretty, pretty mundane stuff.”

Mr. DeSantis complained of the role of right-wing media in the presidential primary, which he said provided “no accountability at all for anything Trump would say.” He added that such a lack of holding Mr. Trump to his agenda was a concern if he returned to the White House.

“Their business model just doesn’t work if they offer any criticism of Trump,” Mr. DeSantis said of the conservative news media, framing his criticism as “just an observation.”

“He said at some point he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose a vote,” Mr. DeSantis went on, referring to Mr. Trump. “Well, I think he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue, and the conservative media wouldn’t even report on it.”

Mr. DeSantis also made clear that he had no interest in being Mr. Trump’s running mate.

“People were mentioning me — like, I am not — I am not doing that,” he said, outlining that “Donald Trump’s criteria will be” different than his would have been.

“I have heard that they’re looking more in identity politics. I think that’s a mistake. I think you should just focus on who the best person for the job would be,” Mr. DeSantis said.

One supporter asked Mr. DeSantis if he was afraid of being marginalized by Mr. Trump.

Mr. DeSantis urged caution on such news reports but appeared to address years-old bad blood between him and one of Mr. Trump’s top aides, Susie Wiles, who had once worked for Mr. DeSantis.

“I think he’s got people in his inner circle who were part of our orbit years ago that we fired,” he said. “And I think some of that is, they just have an ax to grind.”

Chris LaCivita, a top Trump adviser, called Mr. DeSantis a “sad little man” in a post on X after the recording of the call surfaced.

Mr. DeSantis sounded very much like a politician still eyeing his political future, including as he talked about pressing for term limits and other national concerns. “I want to be helpful at the state level across the country,” he said.

The governor recounted that voters often told him that, although they were supporting Mr. Trump this year, they would like to support him in the future.

“I didn’t want to hear this,” he said. “But, I mean, I heard from a lot of people on the ground in these early states that, you know, they thought I was so wonderful, I’d be such a great president. But they wanted to give Trump one more shot, and they would just support me in ’28.”