How Long Does DeSantis Have?

The clock is ticking on Trump’s most plausible challenger.

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivering remarks June 9, 2023 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Our friends the anti-anti-Trumpers like to say that if you’re not on board with Ron DeSantis in the Republican primary, you’re effectively pro-Trump.

I agree, to a point.

But I question their good faith. Backing the governor on the theory that he alone stands a chance of slaying the dragon is defensible and reflects my own position—for now. Yet the sense I get from many of them is that they’d go on backing DeSantis even if Trump quit the race tomorrow, leaving them ostensibly free to support Tim Scott, Nikki Haley, or any number of more classically liberal conservatives.

It’s not Trump’s illiberalism that offends most anti-anti-Trumpers, it seems. What offends them is that he’s bad at translating his illiberal impulses into policy, forever getting in his own way with “mean tweets,” breathtakingly stupid self-sabotage, and the occasional coup attempt.

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  1. Avatar photo
    Ben Connelly

    This strikes me as altogether unfair on some of the people who are lumped into the “anti-anti-Trump” category. Is National Review in that category? Almost all of them would vote for Pence or Scott in a heartbeat if either of them became the “one true alternative” to Donald Trump.

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    Ed

    Trump will not be President again. Period. But no one will replace him until they start making the case that either the Republicans nominate a non-Trump, or we get four more years of Biden- Harris. I think Desantis has a better shot than Christie, but not if he can't state the obvious truth.

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    C C Writer

    I never overestimated DeSantis and I have been saying all along that I will not settle for him, period. Of course we can do better. I didn't expect to be so impressed by Christie, but it turns out I am, and he seems to have momentum. And I am going to do my homework on some of the others. I've ruled out Haley, and Pence's remarks in an interview aired on Sunday were disappointingly evasive. Now that I've seen forthright in an announced candidate with solid experience I'm not even interested in "let's move on" waffling and weaselling. But there are others you didn't mention that I also want to take a look at.

    Yes, it's still early enough for polling numbers to change. It's also plenty early enough for the challengers to figure out how to coalesce around one of their number when we have a better picture of where things are heading in real life, not just in prophetic imagination. I'm not a pundit, just a voter. But I take my voting as seriously as pundits take their own prophecies.

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  4. Autonomian

    The No Labels 3rd party strategy is starting to look like a good thing.

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  5. Nathanielgilbert

    We need the field to narrow and for some of these candidate to join forces in order to take Trump out.

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      Tim

      Good luck with that

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    JohnD

    While it is early, DeSantis has not from what I have heard made a case for ‘Why DeSantis’ except for small ball platitudes like he is ‘not woke and not Trump’ and can win. This isn’t going to work for a charisma challenged governor of a big state. I think in the end we are all overestimating DeSantis and underestimating Christie (and maybe Tim Scott). Regardless this nomination is Trumps to lose, and in a general election I suspect he will end up with <45% of the vote and a pretty crushing loss. In the long run this might be a good thing as it will help the Republican Party rebuild itself.

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      Tim

      Will it though? Rebuild itself? What's to keep Trump from running in 2028 and for all the angry old white people to nominate him again? I mean, if their going to nominate him in 2024 after all the buffoonery and all of the losing GOP voters clearly do not care about winning elections. If the GOP nominates Trump again it will be come a hollowed out rump party with bleak prospects for the future.

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    Connie

    Right now, I’m liking Christie. Pretense is anathema to me. The former governor and federal prosecutor is hitting my sweet spot. Plus, I always appreciated his welcoming embrace of Obama in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Christie stood up to the partisan sniping about Obama’s visit; and made quite clear that Obama was being very helpful to the state of New Jersey.

    However, I fear many GOP primary voters are not interested in truth. Sad.

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    Rjosephpaquette

    Part of me has resigned myself that the hard core Republican primary voter is an addict. And can’t stop till they hit rock bottom. So I think Trump winning the nomination and losing the general again is inevitable.

    I’ve sent money to Haley and Scott. But I know it’s likely futile.

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    Anne W (Raw5254)

    This is all so depressing. I absolutely cannot stand Trump. I’m not crazy about DeSantis, but I’d take him over Trump or Biden. Yet, why on earth can’t we do better? What is it about the human psyche that gets us into these impossible situations?

    And, I don’t want to hear Democrats gloating over how much better they are, because for me, they aren’t. They have their own problems, and saying they aren’t as bad as Trump is not reassuring.

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    1. BPhillips

      I didn't pay attention to DeSantis until the last 6 months or so. Apparently he was a pretty normal, decent governor. But the more I hear from him now the more I dislike him. His relentless anti-woke policies seem way overboard to me, and using the government to punish a company for criticizing his policies is un-American in my opinion. I can't stomach voting for him.

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        Jay

        As a Floridian I voted for him twice. His first term wasn't perfect but it wasn't the maga-esque horror show he's put on in term two. Unfortunately he was bitten hard by the presidential urge bug early and started picking silly fights and landing on "anti-woke" (whatever that really is) as evidence on what a "fighter" he is. Now, minus the compliant Florida legislature with its Republican super majority doing has bidding on cue he is showing not much of anything at all.

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        Anne W (Raw5254)

        I’ve become very disillusioned with him, but I’d still take him over Trump IF that’s what it gets down to. I like Tim Scott, but we aren’t hearing much from him lately. It would be so nice to have someone decent.

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    2. Hikingguy

      Yet, doggone it, the Democrats NEVER sent a mob of Righty idjits after Congress. Is it "gloating" to remember that and vote accordingly?

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        Anne W (Raw5254)

        There’s always that opportunity (or something else), so never say NEVER! And, you can’t keep using that one forever as a way of pointing out how much better Democrats are. I think it’s disgusting, too, but how about we move on, and try to come up with some decent candidates. Pointing out how awful the other side is doesn’t solve anything.

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          Kmregan7

          Convenient to just want to "move on" while complaining that Democrats aren't even better. They ARE better. They just are. Sure it could happen - but it hasn't so why does the possibility overcome the actual reality. Unless it's some form of partisanship (which everyone has). And sure, we can try to come up with some decent candidates. I think the GOP even had some (Sununu for one would have gained a LOT of conservative/moderate Dems). But these are the candidates we have. Sure we can discuss how we could get better ones makes sense - but then we have to face the actual reality we have. Democrats may have "their own problems" but those problems aren't Trump or 1/6. So yes, they're better.

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            Anne W (Raw5254)

            I’m not saying “move on” in the sense that we should forget it. But, using it as the means for pointing out that Democrats didn’t do it so “They ARE better. They just are.” is not a great argument. “Sure it could happen - but it hasn’t so why does the possibility overcome the actual reality.” Did I say that? No, I’m just saying it wouldn’t hurt to have a little humility. If you look at history, the Democrat Party hasn’t exactly been the paragon of truth and justice either.

            It’s easy to say your side is better when Trump makes it so obviously easy, but again, we all spend a lot of time here going over the problems Republicans have. I’m glad we do, because there are plenty. I just rarely see anyone on the left willing to do much self reflection. And the minute someone on the right questions their integrity, it’s “at least we don’t have Trump!” Are you absolutely certain about that?

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  10. Jim S

    Watching the wheel go around and around here at TD regarding DeSantis and his electability I was finally struck by something.

    A huge percentage of folks that insist DeSantis is not worse than Trump happen to believe that in fact Hillary Clinton was worse than Trump and supporting him was the right move. Major dissonance there for me.

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