– I think the chance of being elected after being convicted of a felony is as close to zero as you can get, says Florida Governor and Republican Ron DeSantis in an interview with CBS.
The statement is interpreted as a signal that DeSantis is trying step by step to paint his rival, former President Donald Trump, as unelectable if he is convicted of the crimes for which he is charged.
– Even before all this, I did not think that the president, the former president, should run again. There are too many voters for whom he is unacceptable, DeSantis also says in the interview.
Endorsed Trump
According to opinion polls in the United States, DeSantis is second, possibly third, behind Donald Trump in the race to become the Republican presidential candidate for the 2024 election. And he is far behind the former president.
Four counts of indictment are directed at Trump related to the attempts to have the results of the 2020 presidential election annulled. The crimes are described, among other things, as conspiracy.
DeSantis has previously sided with Trump and his staff when they argued that the criminal investigations are politically motivated. The Florida governor also joined the majority of the other Republican aspirants during a debate last month in declaring that they will support Trump if he is convicted in the upcoming trials.
Trump’s staff: Record low level
In the CBS interview, which aired Wednesday night, De Santis criticizes Trump (and incumbent President Joe Biden) for sharply increasing the U.S. national debt during their terms in office.
The Trump camp has reacted quickly.
“DeSantis knows he has no chance of ever being the nominee – he’s slipping to third place – but cozying up to never-Trumpers and crazy Democrats is an all-time low for him, almost as low as his poll numbers” greets Trump’s campaign spokesman Steven Cheung in a statement.
However, the United States’ national debt is not commented on.
FACTS The four charges
The four-point indictment concerns Trump’s attempt to have the results of the 2020 presidential election annulled, and the crimes are described as conspiracy, among other things.
“The purpose of the conspiracy was to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election through the use of knowingly false allegations of election fraud,” the 45-page indictment states.
According to the indictment, Trump allegedly tried to adjust the results after the 2020 presidential election in his favor. It culminated in the storming of the Capitol congress building on January 6, 2021. But before that, Trump is said to have tried to influence, among other things, election workers and elected officials in several states.
Special prosecutor Jack Smith says the storming of the Capitol was carried out by Trump supporters driven by his lies about election fraud. Inside the building, Congress was about to formally nominate Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election when Trump’s supporters filed in.
Several co-conspirators are named in the indictment, but not by name because they are not charged with any crimes.
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