Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, according to GOP billionaire megadonor Peter Thiel, would “make a terrific president.”
DeSantis has stated that he will decide whether to run for office in 2024 after the conclusion of Florida’s legislative session, which is scheduled to expire later this week.
“I think DeSantis would make a terrific president if he’s the Republican nominee. I will strongly support him in 2024,” Thiel said during a recent podcast appearance.
Thiel backed the governor of Florida, although his backing was tinged with reluctance due to DeSantis’s pro-culture-war sentiments in the state.
“But I do worry that focusing on the woke issue as ground zero is not quite enough,” Thiel continued.
“The focus on identity politics, on the woke religion, is probably a distraction from stagnation. It’s a distraction from economics. It’s a distraction from the way in which the younger generation in the U.S. is probably gonna have a hard time having [as] good [a] standard of living as their parents. And so, there’s a set of issues that we do not wanna talk about.” he added.
Last month, Reuters claimed that Thiel had decided not to support any political candidate in 2024 owing to his displeasure with the GOP’s emphasis on divisive cultural issues, citing individuals close to the mega donor.
Although he hasn’t declared yet, DeSantis is seen as the leading Republican opponent to former President Donald Trump.
Thiel, a vocal Trump supporter and one of Trump’s most significant funders in 2016, told The New York Times in 2018 that, in his opinion, Trump had fallen short as president.
Regarding his intention to support DeSantis in the 2024 election, Thiel was vague in the podcast.
[READ MORE: DeSantis Signs New Bill Banning Usage of Woke ESG Regulations in Florida]
