Lake Urges DeSantis Not To Run: It’s ‘Trump’s Turn’

Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake (R) urged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) not to run in the 2024 presidential election, saying it’s former “President Trump’s turn” to do so.

In an interview with Newsmax host Eric Bolling, Lake said she supports Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and urged DeSantis to hold off on a presidential run until after.

Lake urged DeSantis to complete his gubernatorial term, which ends in January 2027, and suggested that he is not ready for “the world stage.”

“I think Ron DeSantis is an effective governor, there’s no doubt about that. The people of Florida just reelected him. I’m assuming when they reelected him, they were hoping he’d stay around for a while,” Lake said.

“I guess he’s in his 40s. He’s about 10 years younger than me,” Lake added. “He’s got a long political future ahead of him and I think he should respect that the people just voted him in as governor and serve out that term for the people of Florida.”

“And then he could obviously run for president. But this is President Trump’s turn and we haven’t seen Ron DeSantis on the world stage yet,” she continued.

Lake expressed confidence in Trump’s leadership but doubted how DeSantis would perform diplomatically.

“Some of the people that are surrounding him are kind of the type of people that were pushing for war, that were pushing for the endless wars,” she said.

During the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington D.C., Lake beat DeSantis in a straw poll of potential running mates for Trump’s 2024 campaign.

She received 20% support from CPAC attendees, while DeSantis received 14%.

Trump also defeated DeSantis in CPAC’s straw poll for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, receiving 62% support from attendees. DeSantis received 20%.

According to the Axios, Trump is considering choosing Lake as a potential running mate.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) defeated Lake in the 2022 gubernatorial election. In December 2022, Lake filed a lawsuit against Hobbs and election officials in Maricopa County, calling for the election to be “redone.”

Lake’s campaign claimed that she could not serve as Trump’s running mate since she cannot serve as “governor and vice president at the same time.”

While DeSantis has not announced a run for president in 2024, he is reportedly planning an announcement soon.