Report: DeSantis Is Dropping Private Signs on a Run

Will he or won't he? That's been the question swirling around Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on a possible 2024 presidential run, and another big hint dropped on Friday. Earlier in the week, DeSantis delivered his State of the State address, boasting that "Florida is No. 1" as he noted his state's growth, economic achievements, and standing as a top US tourist spot. Per CNBC, he also vowed, "You ain't seen nothing yet," prompting further speculation that the 44-year-old Republican plans to throw his hat in the ring for 2024.

Peggy Noonan at the Wall Street Journal believes that's "definitely" going to happen, pointing out all the pieces that seem already to be in place. "I read him as a guy who thinks you get a moment in politics, a magic moment, and when it comes you move because you don't know if it will ever come again," she writes. Now, sources "familiar with his comments" tell the Washington Post that DeSantis has indeed suggested privately that he's a go to get into the race, with recent conversations taking place "without any caveats that would suggest he's still deciding." Sources also tell the paper that a "Never Back Down" super PAC launched Thursday to urge DeSantis to run "is likely to serve as an approved outside spending vehicle for his campaign."

Trips over the next few days to early nominating states are further bolstering the whispers: DeSantis will first travel to Iowa on Friday, then to Nevada on Saturday to promote his new memoir, The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for American's Revival. Insider reports the book sold more copies in its first week than books by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Donald Trump in their first week of sales. Speaking of Trump, NBC News notes that the former president, already in the race to become the future president, will "nearly cross paths" with DeSantis on his own trip to Iowa, where he's set to deliver a campaign speech on Monday. Allies tell the Post they don't expect DeSantis to make an official announcement on a 2024 run until after his state's legislative session ends on May 5. (More Ron DeSantis stories.)