Trump on the possibility of Ron DeSantis running against him in 2024: 'We'll handle that the way I handle things'

• Former President Donald Trump during a podcast Monday sent a warning to Ron DeSantis.
• Trump said he had heard DeSantis "might want to run" against him.

On Monday, former President Donald Trump phoned into the conservative podcast "The Water Cooler" and issued a warning to his prospective presidential rival Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida.

"So now I hear he might want to run against me. So we'll handle that the way I handle things," Trump said.

Trump also claimed credit — as he has repeatedly done in the past — for DeSantis clinching the governorship in 2018, saying, "I got him elected, pure and simple."

—Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) January 16, 2023

DeSantis has not announced he will run for president, but he has hinted that he might. During a debate in October, DeSantis did not commit to serving another four full years as Florida's governor. Insider's Kimberly Leonard reported in November that DeSantis was releasing his first autobiography, a key indicator that he's looking toward a White House run.

DeSantis has also become a frontrunner to challenge Trump for the Republican presidential ticket. In a YouGov poll of 413 Republicans three days after the 2022 midterm elections, 42% of the respondents said they would rather have DeSantis as the GOP's 2024 nominee. Only 35% said they preferred Trump.

Meanwhile, Trump has not held back from insulting DeSantis. In November, Trump dubbed the governor "Ron DeSanctimonious" during a rally and blasted him as "average" on social media.

In private, Trump also does not appear to be DeSantis' biggest fan. In January 2022, Axios' Jonathan Swan reported that Trump was trash-talking the governor behind closed doors, slamming him for his perceived ungratefulness and saying DeSantis has a "dull personality."

DeSantis, meanwhile, has avoided addressing Trump's insults and refrained from hitting back. At a November 16 press conference, DeSantis told people to "chill out" about the prospect of a GOP civil war between him and the former president.

Representatives for DeSantis and a spokesperson at Trump's postpresidential office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.