Ron DeSantis doubts that Donald Trump can be re-elected if he's convicted

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that he is doubtful that former president Donald Trump can be re-elected if he's convicted of a felony.

In an interview with CBS News, DeSantis said: "I think the chance of getting elected president after being convicted of a felony is as close to zero as you can get."

During the interview, the CBS anchor asked the 44-year-old whether or not he agreed with former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who said Americans won't vote for a convicted criminal.

Haley, another Republican candidate, asked DeSantis if he believes voters will elect someone, such as Trump, who is facing 91 criminal counts.

DeSantis stated that even before the four indictments were filed against Trump, he did not believe he should run for president again.

Responding to what DeSantis said, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said: "Team DeSantis and Always Back Down were caught red-handed as one of their lawyers was outed as the mastermind of falsely trying to use the 14th Amendment to disenfranchise voters and interfere in the election."

Cheung was referring to a recent Washington Post report that suggested a Republican election lawyer with ties to three of Trump's primary opponents, including DeSantis, was involved in efforts in various states to remove Trump off the ballot under the 14th Amendment.

Cheung said: "DeSantis knows he has no shot of ever becoming the nominee — he is slipping to third place after all — but cozying up to Never Trumpers and lunatic Democrats is an all-time low for him, almost as low as his poll numbers."

DeSantis is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination to oust Biden from the White House but trails Trump in opinion polls.

Biden and DeSantis have spoken regularly this week about the hurricane, which pummeled Florida's Big Bend region with Category 3 winds of nearly 200 kmph.

(With inputs from agencies)

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