Gaetz says Trump-DeSantis 2024 ticket would be ‘terrific’

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) gave an enthusiastic endorsement on Friday at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) to a potential Republican presidential ticket with former President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

“I think that a Trump-DeSantis ticket would be terrific,” Gaetz told The Hill in a brief interview.

Gaetz said he is supporting Trump as his presidential pick for the Republican primary, saying he believed the former president “has a special magic, an energy, a coalition that excites people and welcomes people in.”

He said he liked DeSantis, noting he served as a chairman on the Florida governor’s transition team in 2018. “I think very highly of him,” Gaetz said, adding that “selfishly, I want him to stay my governor for the full eight years that Floridians elected him for.”

But Gaetz’s remarks suggest that Republicans who support the former president as their Republican presidential nominee could be open to seeing DeSantis involved on the ticket. The Florida congressman also said he’d also support Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) as another running mate choice. 

“I think we’re going to win, but we won’t win by running the same campaign we did in 2016 or 2020. In 2024, people are facing challenges that they weren’t facing because of the failures of this administration,” Gaetz said of Trump’s candidacy. “So, it’ll require a different campaign but I think ultimately it’ll be successful.”

Gaetz’s remarks come as many of the conference’s speakers are supportive or aligned with the former president. Many of CPAC’s attendees have also vocalized support for a Trump 2024 bid. 

Meanwhile, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, who announced her White House bid last month, is scheduled to speak later Friday at CPAC in addition to widely floated GOP contender former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Trump is slated to speak Saturday.