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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis fired back Friday at a report that he is preparing another White House bid in 2028, accusing The Washington Post of fabricating claims that he has started reaching out to political consultants about a potential campaign.
“The Washington Post is fabricating this out of whole cloth,” DeSantis wrote on X. “I have not reached out to anybody about running for anything.”
“Just another pathetic attempt to garner clicks. Using anonymous sources of course!” he added.
The Post reported Friday, citing three people briefed on his plans, that DeSantis was preparing to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2028.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference at the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations office in Miramar, Florida, on May 1. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The newspaper reported that DeSantis, who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2024 and is term-limited after 2026, had already reached out to at least one national political consultant about working on a prospective campaign.
A federal super PAC tied to DeSantis also sent out a fundraising text earlier this week, The Post reported.
DeSantis continued pushing back against the report in exchanges with social media users.
When one user expressed hope that The Post’s reporting was accurate, the governor replied that he was “sorry to disappoint.”
DeSantis also responded to another user who suggested political consultants may have been using his name to attract attention.
“Probably the case. But maybe just made up by WaPo,” he wrote.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis accused The Washington Post of “fabricating this out of whole cloth” after the newspaper reported that he was preparing a 2028 presidential campaign. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Speculation surrounding DeSantis’ political future comes just days after Republicans suffered sweeping defeats in the midterm elections, losing control of both chambers of Congress and several traditionally Republican strongholds.
The Sunshine State, however, remained a bright spot for the GOP, with Republican Byron Donalds winning the governor’s race.
“This is close to an extinction-level event for Republicans,” DeSantis said Wednesday, warning that among the nation’s 10 most populous states, Florida would be the only one with Republican control of its government.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks with reporters after delivering his State of the State address during the first day of the legislative session at the Florida State Capitol on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Tallahassee, Florida. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
DeSantis previously sought the 2024 Republican presidential nomination but suspended his campaign in January 2024 after the Iowa caucuses and endorsed Donald Trump.
The governor, who will leave office in January, has previously left open the possibility of another presidential campaign.
Digital has reached out to DeSantis’ office and The Washington Post for comment.
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Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
