Is there a political battle on the horizon between Trump and DeSantis?

Former President Donald Trump has announced his intention to run for president again in 2024, but the announcement raises questions about a potential battle between him and Governor Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis declined to weigh in on the brewing republican divide while in Matlacha on Wednesday. So, is there a battle to come between the governor and Trump?

One of the state’s largest newspapers, The Miami Herald, went so far as to say a ‘GOP civil war pits Ron versus Don.’

WINK News asked Republican Congressman Byron Donalds if that statement about a GOP civil war is true. Do Florida’s most prominent Republicans threaten the unity of the party?

Donalds said no. He said Donald Trump is the leader of the party and the man who should be the GOP nominee for president in 2024.

As for Ron DeSantis, Donalds said he should focus on being governor and wait until 2028.

Donalds believes the Republicans have the best of both worlds; a great governor and a great president who wants to be president again.

He says the party needs to come to grips with that and rally behind Donald Trump.

“I don’t think we’re going towards the GOP divide, I actually think that will be really foolhardy. Our party isn’t actually in a very good shape. He is the person who has done the job and has the ability to do it again. So he’s going to set the tempo for this. I think the timing is completely up to him. Whether it’s good, bad, or indifferent, frankly, doesn’t matter. It’s whatever he decided he was going to get in the race he chose now. And now we begin,” said Donalds.

The Republican party suffered some high-profile losses during the midterm elections, but in Florida, the GOP dominated. That’s why Donalds believes Florida is the future of the Republican party.

Trump made his run for president official Tuesday night, and he believes he’s the favorite.

“This will not be my campaign. This will be our campaign,” said Trump at the announcement on Tuesday.

But is Trump the favorite of his own party? Many people talk about DeSantis as being a more attractive candidate.

The governor was in Matlacha on Wednesday to talk about Hurricane Ian response, and when he asked, “Any questions,” WINK News asked whether Republicans may be forced to pick between himself and Trump.

“We just finished this election, OK. People just need to chill out a little bit on this stuff,” said DeSantis.

Then the governor then quickly shifted to what’s still ahead nationally for the GOP.

“We have this Georgia runoff coming, which is very important for Republicans to win that Georgia runoff. I mean, I know around the country, Florida was kind of the biggest bright spot. It was not so bright in many other parts of the country. It was a substandard performance given the dynamics that were at play,” DeSantis said.

For months, people have asked the governor if he plans to run for president. He has never said yes, and he has never said no.

He did tout his record and hinted that he could do the job on the national stage.

“You look at all the problems that the country is having. The inflation, the open border, all these different things, a lot of failures. Florida is an example of, you know, what you can get the big things right,” said DeSantis.

DeSantis said during his visit is he wants to make the most of this second term. He said the Republican party has to get things done now that they’re in the supermajority.

WINK News asked two political analysts if DeSantis were to go head to head with Donald Trump, what would happen to the Grand Old Party?

“I think it would split it,” said Reed Galen, co-founder of The Lincoln Project.

Political expert Susan MacManus agreed.

Galen said if DeSantis does decide to run, “He becomes the leading anti-trump candidate in the country because that’s what he will necessarily be.”

He also predicts Trump will get nasty if that were the case.

“It’s a very personal thing. And if you’re gonna go after Donald, you better be prepared that you’ve decided, okay, this is a fight I have to fight every single day,” said Galen.

His advice to the governor? “I’d sit it out. Because here’s the one thing I know, even if you were to run against Donald Trump and beat him in a primary, trump will make sure that you never become president. He will make sure that every hardcore MAGA voter in the country stays home, or worse yet, votes for a democrat, whoever that might be.”

MacManus said it’s too early to say who’d win in a Trump-DeSantis matchup.

“There have been some polls done that show DeSantis beating Trump in Florida. But that was taken a while back things change,” said MacManus.

Ultimately, both experts said we might not see either in the White House.

“Let’s face it, that may not be the final pool. There’s a lot of other people that would like to run as well,” MacManus said.

There are a host of others who might decide 2024 is their time to run for president for the GOP, and all of them will know they’ll likely have to beat Donald Trump for the chance to win the White House.