A prominent Republican backer of former President Donald Trump is throwing his support behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the 2024 presidential election.
During an interview with The New York Post, Hal Lambert, founder of the MAGA ETF, said that he is supporting DeSantis for president.
“I’m in for DeSantis this time. I plan to do a lot to help DeSantis win,” Lambert told The Post. “Ron is good at giving a message.”
Lambert’s MAGA ETF makes investments in businesses whose staff members and political action committees largely back Republican candidates.
He explained that he decided to back the Florida governor after having dinner with DeSantis and his wife, Casey, in Florida three weeks ago.
Lambert noted that as governor of the Sunshine State, DeSantis has a solid, successful conservative track record and is right on important issues like border security, energy independence, and education. DeSantis is expected to formally announce his presidential campaign this week.
Elsewhere in the interview, Lambert said that he was turned off by Trump’s performance during a recent CNN town hall, where the former president reiterated his rhetoric that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
“What voters who didn’t vote for Trump in 2020 are going to vote for him this time based on his performance? I don’t think anyone will,” Lambert said.
“We can’t talk about things from four years ago that can’t be changed,” he added. “Trump is going to have a difficult time winning the general election. The election won’t be about Joe Biden’s bad record. It will be a referendum on Trump instead.”
This comes as DeSantis has hinted at a presidential run for months, attending events to secure donors from longtime backers of Trump.
The Washington Post reported earlier this year that DeSantis’ political committee will serve as the launching pad for the governor’s higher office ambitions. Sources familiar with the situation said that he plans to announce his candidacy once Florida’s legislative session ends in May.
A new poll from Mason-Dixon Florida also suggests that DeSantis could beat Trump in the Republican presidential primaries. According to the survey, 59 percent of registered voters approve of DeSantis’ performance as governor since his reelection last year, while only 39 percent say otherwise.
