Trump says he will 'handle' DeSantis if he challenges his 2024 GOP nomination 

Former President Donald Trump said he is prepared to “handle” a challenge from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis if he aims to run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. 

Trump is currently the front-runner for the GOP nomination after declaring his candidacy for president of the United States last November. However, recent polls and rumors have DeSantis as the leading hypothetical GOP candidate. 

During an interview on “The Water Pooler” podcast with David Brody, Trump claimed that he pushed DeSantis’ success after endorsing him in the 2018 gubernatorial primary after DeSantis allegedly came to him begging for his help. 

"I got him elected, pure and simple," Trump said. 

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

In November, DeSantis won the re-election for Florida governor by a 19-point landslide. However, after his win, Trump called DeSantis an "average REPUBLICAN Governor with great Public Relations."

DeSantis, who has not denied that he won’t run for president, has not responded to Trump’s comments. 

"One of the things I've learned in this job is when you're leading when you're getting things done, you take incoming fire. That's just the nature of it," DeSantis told reporters in November when asked about Trump’s attacks. "I roll out of bed in the morning and I have corporate media outlets that have a spasm just because I'm getting up in the morning, and it's just constantly attacking."

"I think what you learn is all of that is just noise, and really what matters is are you leading, are you getting in front of issues, are you delivering results for people, and are you standing up for folks," he added. "At the end of the day, I would just tell people to go check out the scoreboard from last Tuesday night.”