DeSantis Calls Washington Post Report of a 2028 Presidential Bid 'Pathetic' and Fabricated as Pentagon Talk Swirls

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday, Nov. 6, denied a Washington Post report that he is preparing to run for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination. He called the story fabricated and "just another pathetic attempt to garner clicks." The dispute comes as DeSantis enters his last two months in office, with his name also circulating in Washington as a possible replacement for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. For Floridians, it is the latest sign that the term-limited governor's next move is being watched nationally even before Governor-elect Byron Donalds takes over.

What the Post reported

The Washington Post reported Friday, citing three people briefed on his plans, that DeSantis was preparing to seek the Republican nomination in 2028, according to accounts of the story by Fox News and WKMG News 6. The Post said DeSantis had already contacted at least one national political consultant about a possible campaign. It also reported that a federal super PAC tied to him had sent a fundraising text earlier in the week.

The published accounts did not name the consultant or the super PAC. Fox News said it had asked both the governor's office and the Post for comment.

DeSantis's response

DeSantis responded on X. "The Washington Post is fabricating this out of whole cloth," he wrote, according to Fox News. "I have not reached out to anybody about running for anything." He went on to call the report "just another pathetic attempt to garner clicks" and mocked its reliance on unnamed sources.

He kept going in replies. When one user said they had hoped the report was true, DeSantis said he was "sorry to disappoint." When another suggested political consultants might be using his name to raise their own profiles, he answered, "Probably the case. But maybe just made up by WaPo."

His statement denied reaching out to anyone about a run. It did not rule out running for president in the future, and Fox News noted that DeSantis has previously left the door open to another campaign.

The 2024 campaign and the Trump relationship

DeSantis ran for the 2024 Republican nomination against Donald Trump. He suspended his campaign in January 2024 after the Iowa caucuses and endorsed Trump. During the roughly eight-month contest, News 6 noted, Trump called him "DeSanctimonious" and DeSantis called Trump "juvenile."

Trump returned to the White House in 2025 and cannot seek a third term, so 2028 will be an open race for the Republican nomination. A second campaign would make DeSantis one of the best-known names in that field.

The Pentagon speculation

The Post report adds to a separate round of speculation about DeSantis that began earlier in the week. On Nov. 4, CBS News reported that Trump had been asking advisers whether Hegseth should keep his job after Republicans' midterm losses. Other sources told CBS that Trump had not decided to replace him. One source floated DeSantis as a possible successor and said he could be confirmed by the Senate during the lame-duck session and take the job when his term as governor ends Jan. 5.

Asked whether he was considering replacing Hegseth, Trump said, "No, I think he's doing a very good job," according to CBS. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the president "has full confidence in Secretary Hegseth," and praised military operations in Iran and Venezuela. Trump also said Hegseth would be popular if appointed to fill Sen. Marsha Blackburn's seat, though he said he had not heard that idea. CBS reported that some White House aides expect blame for the midterm losses to fall instead on Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who advised on the Iran war.

The pressure on Hegseth has not eased. On Nov. 6, The Intercept reported that Pentagon officials were floating possible replacements and that DeSantis was at the top of many of their lists, with Mike Waltz and several senators also mentioned. Democrats were already pushing to impeach Hegseth before the election, and CBS reported that the effort could grow now that they hold majorities in both chambers. Vice President JD Vance said, "The reason we lost is the war," according to CBS.

Neither the White House nor DeSantis has confirmed the Pentagon reports, and DeSantis's post on the Post story did not address them directly.

A bruising midterm for Republicans, but not in Florida

Both rounds of speculation follow a midterm in which Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress. Florida went the other way. Republicans held the governor's office with Donalds, and Sen. Ashley Moody defeated Democrat Angie Nixon to keep her seat. DeSantis said Wednesday that the national results were "close to an extinction-level event for Republicans," according to Fox News. He warned that Florida would be the only one of the 10 most populous states with Republicans in control of state government.

That framing puts DeSantis in a familiar spot: he can present Florida as the place his party's agenda still wins. It is the same pitch he made after Republicans' disappointing 2022 midterms, when his 19-point reelection made him an early rival to Trump.

What it means for Florida

DeSantis's term ends when Donalds is sworn in on Jan. 5. Until then he keeps the full powers of the office, including appointments, emergency orders and the ability to call lawmakers into special session. Talk of a Cabinet post or a White House bid will shape how Tallahassee reads every move he makes in that window, from the people he appoints to the fights he picks with the press.

A Pentagon nomination would require Senate confirmation and would take DeSantis out of Florida politics, at least for a while. A presidential run would keep him in it. Florida would be his base, his donor network and his main argument, and Floridians would again find their state's record at the center of a national primary.

What's next

Trump has not announced any change at the Pentagon, and DeSantis has said nothing publicly about the defense job. The Senate's lame-duck session is the window the CBS source described for any confirmation before Jan. 5. On the 2028 question, DeSantis's denial focused on the Post's reporting about outreach, not on whether he would ever run again.