Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R-FL) candidacy for president of the United States lasted just shy of eight months. For the most part, he remained solidly in second place and was never a major threat to former President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign. None of the Republican candidates have been, at least according to the polls. Still, Trump routinely went on the attack against DeSantis.
Trump supporters, spurred on by their idol, engaged in vicious online behavior. DeSantis’s mere presence on the stage this cycle represented an affront to the sensitive MAGA crowd. And unsurprisingly, they’re none too happy as they look toward the future.
Trump is not the official Republican nominee, but unless something major occurs, he will once again be on the ballot. Current polling shows a tough road ahead for Trump in a head-to-head matchup against President Joe Biden. If he loses this November, we can expect more spurious claims of a stolen election. There is also a real possibility his ego will push him to try again in 2028. As others have noted, the Republican Party’s obsession with Trump is not likely to go away anytime soon. If DeSantis decides to run again in 2028, he has an uphill battle waiting for him.
Even before DeSantis decided to run, claims were made of him owing loyalty to Trump for his electoral success in Florida. One year ago, Trump said as much during an interview: “I do think it would be a great act of disloyalty because, you know, I got him in. He had no chance. His political life was over.”
That attitude remained through DeSantis’s time as a presidential candidate. Now that DeSantis is out, some Trump supporters feel nothing but animosity toward the governor. Pamela Shinkwin, a 73-year-old voter from Massachusetts, said, “I think he stabbed Trump in the back.” Mary Sullivan, a 76-year-old, also thinks DeSantis acted cruelly: “He backstabbed President Trump … he showed his true colors.” Melissa Davis, a 56-year-old from Iowa, took it personally: “I was a DeSantis fan, admittedly, until he ran against my president.” And for Edward Young of New Jersey, DeSantis can never win him over; Young said the governor “permanently tainted his image in our eyes.”
It is almost unbelievable that these reactions are simply because DeSantis campaigned for president and ran against Trump.
There may be no love lost between Nikki Haley and DeSantis, but she’s right about one thing: This is an election, not a coronation. Trump may be the party’s favorite, but he is allowed to be criticized and also challenged. It’s the lack of both criticism and challenge that brought the party to this disastrous point in the first place. He is not a king and, despite appearances, is not inevitable.
It’s fair to say DeSantis benefitted from Trump’s endorsement and support back in 2018. This hardly qualifies him for lifetime allegiance to the former president. Anyone who demands that of him, whether voters or grifter influencers, is swept up in a cult of personality and deserves mockery. DeSantis’s unapologetic leadership in the Sunshine State is his own doing, not Trump’s. He has accomplished much and is not indebted to the former president for a single thing.
In the announcement suspending his campaign, DeSantis said he would honor his pledge to support the GOP nominee. This is understood to mean Trump. But unlike former candidates Doug Burgum, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), DeSantis is not currently engaged in any grotesque and public displays of bootlicking. The reason is obvious: He is focused on running the state he was elected to govern.
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Trump likes to brag about the differences between himself and other Republicans. He’s right that DeSantis is far different from him. The governor is a serious, sober politician with a regular kind of appeal. He’s not flashy or bombastic, but he is solid. And that matters more than any sort of entertainment Trump can offer. We may or may not see a DeSantis 2028 campaign.
But DeSantis is more than capable and entirely allowed to launch another bid if he so chooses. That Trump and his most ardent fans refuse to accept this is not our problem.
Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog and a columnist at Arc Digital.