On Sunday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended his presidential campaign to endorse Donald Trump. Now, DeSantis is being floated as a potential nominee for the Cabinet… or even for the vice presidency.
Trump addressed the speculation Monday during a sit-down interview with Lawrence Jones of Fox News. The former described the prospect as “a possibility” but “probably unlikely.”
Jones asked the former president., “Since you said water on the bridge, he can be vice president or serve in your cabinet? He hasn’t asked for any of those. Is there a possibility of the joining of forces?”
Trump described DeSantis as a “highly unlikely” pick for the Cabinet.
“It’s probably unlikely,” Trump said, confirming that DeSantis hasn’t asked to join the administration.
“But, you know, I have to be honest. Everything’s a possibility. But I think it’s highly unlikely. I have a lot of great people, and I have great people that have been with me right from the beginning.”
Jones asked about the future of the governor’s relationship to Trump. He said, “Is there a moment where y’all can come back together? Because you really were friends before. Is that possible?”
Trump disputed the premise of the question, and he remained focused on the presidential election.
“I didn’t know him as well as you might think, but I did endorse him,” Trump said, recalling Florida’s 2018 race for governor. “We have policies very similar, actually.”
Lawrence described the rivalry between Trump and DeSantis as “water under the bridge.”
“Totally, as far as I’m concerned,” Trump said. “He endorsed me.”
Trump made similar remarks Sunday, after the end of the DeSantis campaign.
“I just want to thank Ron and congratulate him on doing a very good job,” Trump said at the outset of his remarks. “He was very gracious, and he endorsed me. I appreciate that, and I also look forward to working with Ron.” Trump described DeSantis as “a really terrific person.”
DeSantis joined other failed candidates, including South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, in endorsing the former president. Trump critics Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor, and Asa Hutchinson, the former Arkansas governor, declined to endorse Trump after suspending their campaigns; Hutchinson endorsed rival candidate Nikki Haley on Saturday.
On Friday, Trump said that he “probably” wouldn’t pick Haley, either.
“She is OK, but she is not presidential timber. And when I say that, that probably means she is not going to be chosen as the vice president,” Trump reportedly told a crowd in Concord, New Hampshire. “When you say certain things, it sort of takes them out of play, right?… I can’t say, ‘She’s not of the timber to be the vice president’ and then say, ‘Ladies and gentleman, I’m proud to announce that I’ve picked.'”
Earlier that day, Haley herself reportedly told voters that the prospect was “off the table.”
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.