"I don't think DeSantis runs against him," Manafort announced the possibility that DeSantis will challenge Trump, adding that he doesn't "think [DeSantis] gets asked" to be Trump's running mate.
Manafort, a one-time Trump campaign manager, claimed that the former President should select someone like Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.
A RealClearPolitics aggregate of 2024 Republican primary polls featuring possible candidates reveals Trump leading the charge by 27.8 percentage points, with Trump at 51% and DeSantis at 23.2%. Former Vice President Mike Pence was the next highest at 7.4%.
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Manafort further announced he is convinced Trump will run, yet Manafort likely won't be involved.
"Am I willing to get back in again?" Manafort questioned. "I don't think so. I'll help whoever the Republican nominee is. But now at this stage of my life, after what I've just gone through, my focus is my family."
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Manafort was convicted of bank fraud, tax fraud, a failure to disclose a hidden foreign bank account, and conspiracy throughout special counsel Robert Mueller's 2017 probe into possible Russian collusion by the Trump administration.
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Meanwhile, Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones announced he'd back a 2024 presidential bid from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), turning his back on former President Trump.
Jones, who was later ordered to pay $49.3 million to parents of a Sandy Hook school shooting victim in a defamation case, announced he "pig-headedly" supported Trump in the past "to keep him in office because of the nightmare scenario if Hillary or Biden got in."
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"With that, I am supporting DeSantis," Jones stated.
Trump and DeSantis have topped recent polling on a hypothetical 2024 Republican presidential primary. A Tuesday Florida poll saw DeSantis eke out a slight lead over the former President.
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Both potential GOP candidates have been mired in recent controversies.
The FBI executed a search warrant at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence last week. Agents reportedly recovered 11 sets of classified documents that were improperly stored at the Palm Beach, Fla., resort past the end of Trump's presidential term.
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DeSantis knocked the FBI for the search, which Trump has claimed was politically motivated.
The turn away from Trump arrived the same day that a Florida prosecutor sued DeSantis, claiming the Florida governor had suspended him due to his opinions on transgender surgery and abortion.
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