It would be an "elaborate form of suicide" for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to enter the race for the 2024 GOP nomination, Dick Morris, a Newsmax contributor and author of "The Return: Trump's Big 2024 Comeback" said Saturday.
"It's a little bit like the decision of Japanese kamikaze pilots to keep fighting in 1945 and smacking their planes into ships and dying," Morris said on Newsmax's "Saturday Report," adding that if it were the 2028 election, the Florida Republican would have an "absolute clear field" and could win the nomination.
"But if he runs in 2024, he'll lose," said Morris. "He'll lose badly. And in the process, he'll incur the wrath of three-quarters of the Republican Party; so I hope he doesn't do that."
Urgent: Dick Morris' bestselling "The Return" lays out Donald Trump's plan to defeat the investigations and political opponents. Get this book with FREE Offer and Save $28! See Offer Here Now
Morris' comments come amid reports that DeSantis has indicated privately that he intends to run and follow DeSantis' trip and speech this week in the early primary state of Iowa.
Meanwhile, there has been some talk about whom former President Donald Trump will pick as a running mate. But Morris said he has no idea whom Trump will pick, and he's "not much interested" in the eventual decision, which is still a long way away.
But he said that on his program, "Dick Morris Democracy," which airs on Newsmax on Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. EST, there will be a segment about how people have advised the former president to tone down his confrontational style so he can appeal to independents and people not within his base.
"I disagreed with that," said Morris. "I said that we have to win an eight- or a 10-way primary and preserve that unique selling proposition you have and basically keep their loyalty and keep them active and involved in everything. If you do that, it can spread and your base will widen as well as deepen."
Meanwhile, Trump is "tapped into the anger and outrage that Americans feel at the Biden presidency," said Morris. "[He] did this in the speech at CPAC [the Conservative Political Action Conference] when he said, 'And for those who have been betrayed and warned, I am your vengeance.' And that's a very strong thing to say."
Morris said he's also reminded of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, where the president was killed just as "everything was going great in this country."
"We thought racism was going down and desegregation with the order of the day, we're beginning to even wind down the Cold War," said Morris. "And then — bang — Kennedy was killed, and everything went to hell."
And with Trump, "people [thought] that things were going great under him. And then — bang — it changed with the election, and Joe Biden came in and ruined everything. And I think Trump is tapping into that anger and that is really the motivating force behind his candidacy. And I think it's working very, very well."
Urgent: Dick Morris says special counsel will not stop Trump and predicted DOJ attack. Get the book on Trump: "The Return" – Save $28 – Go Here Now
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.