If I were Ron DeSantis...
A casualty of the Trump indictment
Before I start, I should avoid suspicions of hidden agendas by laying my cards on the table. Trump was not my first choice in the 2016 Republican primaries and is not my first choice now. I did vote for him against Hillary and Biden and think subsequent events vindicate those votes. Should he be the Republican nominee in 2024, I would crawl through a mine field to vote for him again. But if the Texas Republican Primary were held today, I would vote for DeSantis.
Now that I’ve annoyed everybody, on to my point . . . which may annoy even more.
One of the casualties of the Trump indictment is the Ron DeSantis campaign. Proceeding with a campaign for President would be self-defeating for him now.
I say that not only because people are rallying around Trump at DeSantis’ expense as polls indicate. And polls do not show the intensity of that feeling. Heck, I’m a DeSantis supporter but out of pure spite I am now dusting off my MAGA hat given me as a gift and wearing it every freaking chance I get. People are angry about the Trump indictment and not just die hard Trump supporters.
Can DeSantis somehow overcome that instinct of most Republicans to rally around Trump? Very doubtful.
But there is now the further problem that proceeding with a campaign while not appearing to many to be part of the anti-Trump cabal is close to impossible. DeSantis would be lumped together with other Trump opponents to his long-term political peril. It shouldn’t be that way. But it is political reality. Proceeding with a campaign now is not only a losing proposition for 2024 but would hurt his standing to run in 2028.
Remember that many Trump supporters don’t give a d**n about the Republican Party, and I don’t blame them. Many of them will not support DeSantis in 2028 if he is a Trump opponent in 2024. And, like it or not, any Republican running in 2028 will need the MAGA base strongly behind him/her to win.
In times past, running a good presidential campaign set a Republican up well for the next run. I don’t think that would be the case this time. By being a Trump opponent, DeSantis would not only lose by running in 2024; he would risk losing 2028.
So what would I do if I were Ron DeSantis? I would announce a major speech. Heck, make people think you are going to announce a run for President. Start that speech by denouncing the Trump indictment and two-tiered politicized justice. Then wax long and eloquent against the overall tyranny and incompetence of Biden and company. Then, with some drama, say Americans must unite against Biden and his Democrats. So I (DeSantis) will not risk dividing common sense Americans. Whereupon he should announce he is not running in 2024 and instead endorse Donald Trump.
He should then keep a campaign group running to support Trump and other likeminded Republicans (not RINOs) to do his part in 2024 and to buttress his standing for 2028 as well as to be ready to re-enter the race in 2024 in case something unforeseen happens.
But for DeSantis to run now, especially after the Trump indictment, is a losing and self-defeating proposition that would alienate too many of the very people he needs to be his base in the future. I wish it were not so. Again, I like him and expect to vote for him.
But politicians have to deal with reality, and that is the reality. Run, Ron, run . . . but not now, not against Trump.
I hesitate to like for many reasons but I do think your assessment is spot on.
Mark, I posted on my Twitter and CCed ( for lack of a better term)Donald Trump in every capacity address that I use for Twitter with him and all of his cohorts and Melania, Laura Ingraham and Ron DeSantis. That is exactly what he needs to do and I hope that one of them will read it I only have 39 followers. I really do think you’re spot on, and I completely agree with you took every word out of my mouth except for that I did vote for him every chance I got, but I’ve been thinking it from the beginning well, not from the beginning after I adjusted to the fact that he was going to be our candidate in 2015 that’s when I realized that he was the face of America. I just figured it out before some other people. I think Glenn Beck’s just late to the game. I’m glad we have him. He is taking a beating for America. It’s not about the orange man. It’s about We the People. Thanks for writing it. I hope we can get it to Ron DeSantis so we can save America for him in 2028. Thanks, Mark.