DeSantis Has ‘Decades Ahead of Him’ When He Can Be President: Sarah Palin

House candidate, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference CPAC held at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas on Aug. 4, 2022. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska, does not believe that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis should run for U.S. presidency in the 2024 elections and insists that former president Donald Trump remains the best Republican candidate.

“DeSantis doesn’t need to [run for the 2024 presidential race],” Palin said in an interview with Newsmax. “I envision him as our president someday. But not right now. Everybody I speak with in Florida, they all love him. And he does set the tone for I'd say every other governor in the nation. I think he’s our best governor. And he should stay governor for a bit longer. He’s young, you know, he has decades ahead of him where he can be our president.”

Palin believes it would take a “lot of guts” to compete against Trump in the primaries because the former president has already proven himself before and will “prove [himself] again.”

“He’s got the wherewithal. He’s got the vision. He’s got the record now with good policy, showing what he can produce for America. He’s got the guts. He’s got that attitude of ‘got nothing else to lose, man. What more can they do for us? I’m going to fight for what’s right because what else can they do to me?’ It takes a lot of guts to go up against something like that,” she said.

However, Palin pointed out that she’s all for “healthy, competitive primaries” as it makes everyone “debate more articulately” and work harder while allowing the people to know what vision the candidates have for the country.

As to who would be best as a vice presidential candidate for Trump, Palin believes that Trump should choose someone who, like him, “has nothing to lose.”

“What more can they do to that person, personally or verbal attacks or anything else on family? That person has been through the wringer. So they know what they’re getting into. And that person then can just focus on doing what’s right for the people, actually governing how they campaign, doing what they’re expected to do as elected.”

2024 GOP Presidential Candidates

Donald Trump announced his presidential candidacy on Nov. 15 and is the front-running candidate among Republicans for the 2024 election. By the end of 2022, Trump’s Save America PAC had $18 million cash on hand.

Nikki Haley announced her candidacy on Feb. 14, becoming the first major GOP challenger against Trump for the primaries. Haley had previously served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under the Trump administration.

DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence are also two other potential Republican Candidates. However, neither of them has officially announced their run.

In polls, Trump commands a wide lead over his potential opponents. As of Feb. 22, Trump had 50 percent support from potential Republican primary voters according to an election tracker from Morning Consult.

DeSantis came in second with just 30 percent support. None of the remaining candidates, including Haley and Pence, garnered more than 6 percent.

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted between Feb. 6 and 14, Trump received the support of 43 percent of registered Republicans, followed by DeSantis with 31 percent, and Haley with only 4 percent.

In an interview with The Epoch Times, Stephen Stepanek, leader of Trump’s campaign in New Hampshire, highlighted the popularity that the former president has among Americans.

“If you drive around NH [New Hampshire], you see not 1 or 2, not 10 or 20, but hundreds if not thousands of Trump flags, Trump signs, all over … I don’t see any DeSantis signs, I don’t see any Nikki Haley signs,” he said.