Former President Donald Trump outperformed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in hypothetical 2024 presidential matchups against President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, A new Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found.
In a potential rematch against Biden, Trump is up two points at 44 percent, compared to Biden’s 42 percent. Despite some Republicans’ calls for DeSantis to primary Trump, the Harvard poll found that DeSantis is tied with Biden at 43 percent.
Trump similarly outperforms DeSantis in a potential presidential matchup against Harris, leading the Vice President by seven points at 47 percent support. Meanwhile, DeSantis only has three more percentage points of support when pitted against Harris, 42 to 39 percent.
The Harvard poll was taken just days after Trump officially launched his 2024 candidacy following months of speculation.
“You and all those watching are the heart and soul of this incredible movement in the greatest country in the history of the world,” Trump told a crowd of supporters at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday.
Although Biden has not officially announced his reelection campaign, throughout his first two years in office, he has consistently indicated he would run for president again. However, Harvard’s poll found that 55 percent of voters have doubts about Biden’s mental fitness to serve as president.
On the other hand, DeSantis has remained largely silent about the prospect of a 2024 presidential run, neither declaring his intent nor ruling it out completely. For example, when DeSantis’s Democrat opponent Charlie Crist questioned if the governor would serve a full term during their debate last month, DeSantis stood silently, then chided Crist for being “interested in talking about 2024.”
One week before he announced his 2024 campaign, Trump cautioned DeSantis against running in 2024, arguing the Florida governor “could hurt himself very badly.”
“I don’t know if he is running. I think if he runs, he could hurt himself very badly. I really believe he could hurt himself badly,” Trump said. “I think he would be making a mistake, I think the base would not like it — I don’t think it would be good for the party.”
Trump also suggested he would reveal “things about [DeSantis] that won’t be very flattering,” before adding, “I know more about him than anybody – other than, perhaps, his wife.”
However, DeSantis on Wednesday downplayed the establishment media’s attempt to escalate a rift between him and Trump.
“We just finished this election. People just need to chill out a little bit on some of this stuff,” DeSantis told reporters when asked about the potential “Civil War” brewing in the GOP.
If DeSantis does decide to run for president, Trump would handily defeat the Florida governor, according to Harvard’s poll. The survey of 2,212 registered voters, conducted from November 16 to November 17, found that Trump is the clear favorite in a potential GOP primary field, leading DeSantis by 18 points at 46 to 28 percent.
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.
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