Trump's one-time White House chief of staff says the former president 'is not doing very well' on the midterms, and that Ron DeSantis could beat him in 2024

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Trump's one-time White House chief of staff says the former president 'is not doing very well' on the midterms, and that Ron DeSantis could beat him in 2024
Former President Donald Trump (R) and his then-acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney (L) at the White House on December 5, 2019.Mark Wilson/Getty Images
  • Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defeated Democrat Charlie Crist on Tuesday.
  • Former Trump White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told CBS News that "DeSantis wins tonight."
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Former Trump White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said early on Wednesday that his ex-boss, Donald Trump, is having a bad election night and that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has come out on top.

"Between being Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis tonight, you want to be Ron DeSantis," Mulvaney told CBS News, NBC reported. "DeSantis wins tonight and Trump is not doing very well."

His comments came after DeSantis, largely seen as Trump's biggest rival, pulled off a huge victory over Charlie Crist in Florida on Tuesday night, which could potentially set him up for a Republican presidential primary in 2024.

Meanwhile, numerous Trump-backed candidates, including Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania and Tudor Dixon in Michigan, have underperformed or lost the mid-term races, Insider and its election partner DDHQ projected.

In Michigan, Dixon lost a gubernatorial race to Democrat Gretchen Whitmer while Oz, a celebrity doctor, was beaten by John Fetterman for a seat in the Senate.

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In recent months, DeSantis has established himself as a favorite of the conservative movement, and rival to Trump. Alina Habba, a lawyer for Trump, warned DeSantis against a 2024 bid earlier this week.

Neither Trump nor DeSantis has officially declared plans to run for president in 2024.

But both are rumored to be potential candidates, with the former president hinting earlier this week that he will make a "big announcement" on November 15.

Mulvaney, who served as Trump's chief of staff from January 2019 to March 2020, has been critical of his former boss, whom he once called a "terrible human being."

He told CNN in July that Trump is the "only mainstream Republican" who could lose the White House in 2024.

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Mulvaney also said that he wants to see a "new generation" in the Republican party that would include De Santis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, or former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.

A representative for Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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