Photo: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he has no intention of serving as Donald Trump's vice president. DeSantis made the comment during a private call with his supporters. The New York Post obtained audio of the call, in which DeSantis also suggested he may run for president again in 2028.
"People were mentioning me [as a potential vice president]. I am not doing that," DeSantis said during the call.
"I know some people are really actively seeking it. It seems to me, just from watching kind of the body language and stuff, that you have a handful of folks who seem to be auditioning for it," he explained.
DeSantis then attacked Trump's possible criteria for a potential running mate.
"I think my criteria [for running mate] was different than what probably Donald Trump's criteria will be," DeSantis said.
"My criteria was, basically, I need someone who can do the job if it came to that, and I would have been the third-youngest president elected, so chances are, actuarily, I would probably be in pretty good shape, but you never know what else can happen, it's happened before," he said.
"I'm not sure that those are necessarily going to be the criteria that Donald Trump uses. I think he's going to probably use different criteria. I've heard that they are looking more at identity politics. I think that's a mistake. I think you should just focus on who you think the best person for the job would be," DeSantis explained.
Earlier in the week, Trump listed some surprising names for the vice presidential shortlist. The names included DeSantis, Kristi Noem, Tulsi Gabbard, and others.
However, Trump's campaign pushed back after DeSantis' comments, saying that he is not being considered as a potential running mate.
"Ron DeSantis failed miserably in his presidential campaign and does not have a voice in selecting the next Vice President of the United States," said Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt.