DeSantis tells donors he, unlike Trump, can beat Biden, report

Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis reportedly said during a recent call with donors that unlike former President Donald Trump, he could defeat President Biden in the 2024 presidential race.

DeSantis, who is expected to enter the race in the coming weeks and days, made the statement during a call earlier this week, according to a New York Times report.

"You have basically three people at this point that are credible in this whole thing – Biden, Trump and me," DeSantis reportedly said. "And I think of those three, two have a chance to get elected president — Biden and me, based on all the data in the swing states, which is not great for the former president and probably insurmountable because people aren’t going to change their view of him."

To be sure, none of Trump's official primary challengers is polling above single digits. But Trump in essentially every poll leads DeSantis by double digits. 

"We've got to win this time," DeSantis also reportedly said on the call, which was organized by "Never Back Down," a super PAC pushing him to run for president.  "I think the voters want to move on from Biden. They just want a vehicle they can get behind, but there’s just too many voters that don’t view Trump as that vehicle."

If DeSantis jumps into the race, he will be the fifth Republican in the GOP primary along with Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.

Other GOP figures that may jump into the race include former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.