Former President Donald Trump on April 29 strongly suggested he will be running for the White House again in 2024 and acknowledged that many of his zealous supporters have a particular running mate in mind for him.

“The polls show it and everybody wants me to do it,” Trump told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo. “One hundred percent, I’m thinking about running and we will I think be very successful. We were very successful.”

‘People Love That Ticket’

Asked about the prospects of rising Republican star Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joining him, Trump admitted it was a pairing that many of his supporters would love to see.

“Well, he’s a friend of mine. I endorsed Ron. And after I endorsed him, he took off like a rocket ship,” Trump replied, referring to DeSantis’ close 2018 gubernatorial victory over progressive Democrat Andrew Gillum. “He’s done a great job as governor.”

“A lot of people like that — I’m just saying what I read and what you read, they love that ticket,” Trump continued. “But certainly, Ron would be considered. He’s a great guy.” The comments further solidify widespread speculation that former Vice President Mike Pence is no longer even a blip on the America First radar. But they also highlight the lofty heights to which DeSantis’ star has ascended within a party that is still dominated on the grassroots level by Trump.

DeSantis has been the breakout performer of the Beyond the Beltway pushback against coronavirus social curbs emanating out of Washington, D.C. and has displayed a Trumpian-level master hand at using harshly negative big-box media narratives against him to his advantage. When CBS’ 60 Minutes on April 4 went out of its way to falsely accuse him of favoring a Florida supermarket chain on coronavirus vaccine distribution due to campaign donations he had received, DeSantis eviscerated the program and got backing from the Democrat mayor of Palm Beach County. “The reporting was not just based on bad information — it was intentionally false,” Mayor Dave Kerner wrote in a stinging denouncement of CBS.

Trump supporters especially value Republicans who do not kowtow to dominant media framing. DeSantis has shown that he refuses to assume the defensive position that comes naturally to so many elected officials with Rs next to their names. It cannot be overstated how valuable a look this is within the America First wing of the GOP.