Ron DeSantis rules OUT being Trump's vice president: Florida governor tells supporters Donald has 'too much baggage'

Ron DeSantis says he isn't interested in being Donald Trump's vice president after the 2024 frontrunner didn't rule out the Florida governor joining his general election ticket.

The former presidential hopeful said during a call with backers more than a month after dropping out of the running that he was frustrated it turned into essentially an incumbent race, according to a recording obtained by a few outlets.

During a town hall in South Carolina on Tuesday, Trump said he was considering DeSantis, among a large group of others, to be his vice presidential candidate in 2024.

'People were mentioning me — like, I am not — I am not doing that,' he said, claiming that 'Donald Trump's criteria' for who he wants as a vice president would be different than what he would want to bring to the table.

'I have heard that they're looking more in identity politics,' DeSantis explained. 'I think that's a mistake. I think you should just focus on who the best person for the job would be.'

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shot down the potential of being Donald Trump's vice presidential candidate when holding a call with backers who volunteered to serve as his presidential delegates more than a month after dropping out of the 2024 race

Trump confirmed six people are on his shortlist for a potential running mate at a Fox News town hall in Greenville, South Carolina on Monday. The list includes two former opponents and an ex-Democrat

DeSantis left the door open for a 2028 presidential bid, saying: 'I haven't ruled anything out.' 

Trump, 77, confirmed to Fox News Laura Ingraham during a town hall in Greenville, South Carolina on Tuesday that DeSantis, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) are all among the ex-rivals he is considering for VP.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Florida Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) also made the short list, he confirmed.

More surprisingly, Trump said he is looking at former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.

A DailyMail.com poll in New Hampshire found Ramasmway is the top choice to be running mate, followed by Scott in second and Tucker Carlson and Ben Carson in joint third.

'All of those people are good. They're all solid,' Trump told Laura Ingraham Monday night.

DeSantis expressed during the more than 30-minute call this week his dissatisfaction with conservative media's favorable and mostly unbalanced coverage of Trump versus the other candidates who ran against him.

'If it was really just eight, 10 Republicans who had never obviously been president, unlike Trump, I think we would have run away with it,' he said.

'Their business model just doesn't work if they offer any criticism of Trump,' DeSantis said of the conservative media outlets.

'He said at some point he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose a vote,' the Florida governor went on. 'Well, I think he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue, and the conservative media wouldn't even report on it.' 

Trump and DeSantis were once-close allies, but the relationship turned sour after the Florida Governor launched his bid for president in 2024 against the former president

Former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley is the only remaining serious contender against Trump – but she still has longshot odds of actually winning.

In South Carolina, which holds the next primary election on Saturday, Haley is trailing Trump by 30 points, according to the latest polling.

DeSantis noted that Trump also continued to garner 'support out of sympathy' for the repeated indictments and lawsuits levied against him throughout the race.

The Florida Governor was once seen as the only one who could take down Trump in 2024. But after entering the race last year, he swiftly dropped off in the polls amid a series of indictments against Trump, which bolstered his support.

DeSantis dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses and right before the New Hampshire primary election in January.

Speaking of joining Trump's ticket, DeSantis says the former president has too much 'baggage.'

Trump said on Tuesday that deciding on a running mate might not be the biggest decision of his campaign – but noted he wanted someone that would be a good president.

'The one thing that always surprises me is that the VP choice always has no impact,' he noted.

DeSantis is concerned for Republicans heading into the election in the fall.

But he insisted that President Joe Biden is the 'gift that keeps giving' – and that Trump has higher chances of winning against the current president's reelection bid.