For Ron DeSantis, it’s now or never
Brady Leonard
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We can’t have nice things anymore, so naturally, the 2024 presidential cycle began mere seconds after the 2022 midterm elections. Former President Donald Trump, after losing in 2020 and watching a full slate of his endorsed candidates go down in embarrassing fashion, wasted no time in announcing his third bid for the presidency on Nov. 15.
Undoubtedly, there will be a long list of also-rans. “Orange Man Bad” Republicans such as former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson have teased presidential runs. Former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Gov. and Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are all attempting the politically impossible: separating themselves from their former boss while making the case to the Republican base that they can do better than the administration in which they served (all while selling as many books as possible).
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The list surely won’t stop there; if past is prologue, there will be a doctor named Paul attempting to drag the GOP kicking and screaming back to some semblance of fiscal responsibility. Governors and senators far and wide wake up to an alarm clock playing “Hail to the Chief.” There won’t be a shortage of stock Republicans throwing their hats in the ring with little chance of making it past Iowa.
If we are being honest, there is only one man who can challenge Trump for the 2024 nomination: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). The Democrats know this, and the Democratic National Committee-corporate media cabal is already attempting to brand the governor as “worse than Trump.” Trump himself knows this as well. His petty attacks on DeSantis reek of insecurity. I would imagine DeSantis, an Ivy League-educated Navy officer who recently won reelection by 20 points, is smart enough to realize that now is his time and that these opportunities rarely come around more than once.
Trump fans like DeSantis for good reason. Trump’s attempts to rewrite COVID history will fall flat, and MAGA’s main reason for opposing a challenge to the former president is the notion that DeSantis should “wait his turn” and run in 2028. Unfortunately, that is not, and has never been, how American politics work.
DeSantis has the hot hand. The 44-year-old is the most popular GOP governor nationally, won a swing state in a blowout, is fighting the culture wars more effectively than any Republican in recent memory, maybe ever, and, most importantly, has passed every challenge he has faced, from elections to hurricanes to education policy, with flying colors.
When a politician loses “the juice,” it is nearly impossible to get it back. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) was considered a rising star in Democratic circles. The senator had every opportunity to run for president in 2016 but decided to wait her turn behind Hillary Clinton. Warren is now an afterthought on the national scene and is referenced mostly for pretending to be a Native American.
Chris Christie was a contender once upon a time; one hug with a Democratic president changed all of that. “Please clap” ended Jeb Bush’s career, as did Rick Perry’s decision to participate in a debate while on painkillers when recovering from surgery. When you have momentum, you don’t squander it, not in a game as fickle and unpredictable as presidential politics.
There are many factors that make DeSantis the best choice for Republican primary voters in 2024. He is young, understands the issues, has a record to run on, can raise boatloads of cash, and can hit corporate media with the best of them. Run, Ron. An opportunity like this may never come around again. Don’t wait too long and run the risk of becoming the next what-if or, worse, the next meme.
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Brady Leonard (@bradyleonard) is a musician, political strategist, and host of The No Gimmicks Podcast.