DeSantis Denies Washington Post Report He Is Preparing a 2028 Presidential Bid

On Friday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took to X to reject a Washington Post story that had landed the same day, one reporting that he is getting ready to run for president again in 2028. "The Washington Post is fabricating this out of whole cloth," he wrote. "I have not reached out to anybody about running for anything."

He did not stop there. DeSantis called the story another pathetic attempt to garner clicks and noted, with a pointed exclamation mark, that it relied on anonymous sources.

The Post's account, as described by Fox News, cited three people briefed on his plans. They told the paper that DeSantis was preparing to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2028. The Post also reported that he had already contacted at least one national political consultant about working on a prospective campaign. And it said a federal super PAC tied to DeSantis had sent out a fundraising text earlier in the week.

The governor kept arguing with the story in exchanges with users on social media. When one user said they hoped the Post's reporting was accurate, DeSantis answered that he was "sorry to disappoint." Another user suggested that political consultants might be using his name to draw attention to themselves. "Probably the case," DeSantis replied. "But maybe just made up by WaPo."

The background matters here. DeSantis ran for the 2024 Republican nomination, suspended his campaign in January 2024 after the Iowa caucuses, and endorsed Donald Trump. He is term-limited and leaves office in January. He has previously left open the possibility of another presidential run, which is part of why a report like this finds an audience.

The timing is also notable. The story arrived just days after Republicans took sweeping defeats in the midterm elections, losing control of both chambers of Congress and several traditionally Republican strongholds. Florida was a bright spot: Republican Byron Donalds won the governor's race, and will succeed DeSantis.

On Wednesday, DeSantis described the national results in stark terms. "This is close to an extinction-level event for Republicans," he said, warning that among the nation's 10 most populous states, Florida would be the only one with Republican control of its government.

Fox News Digital said it had reached out to DeSantis' office and to The Washington Post for comment. What the story rests on, then, is a flat denial from the governor on one side and three unnamed sources on the other. Whether anything formal follows, an announcement or further denials, is the thing to watch as he prepares to leave office in January.