If Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were a stock, a lot of people in the political world would have begun “short selling” it months ago.
While many on the Republican side of the political world believe DeSantis to be a nice guy and a good family man who saved Florida from the insanity of COVID-19 lockdown dictates, they also see him as someone not built for retail politics — he can come across as aloof, uninterested in the process, disrespectful of some major donors and prone to making one unforced error after the other.
Worse, some see him as not being a particularly loyal or grateful politician. The example which has been cited to me repeatedly is the totally irrefutable fact that without the endorsement of then-President Donald Trump in 2018, DeSantis would not have won either the Republican primary for governor or the general election against Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum.
Flash ahead five-plus years and DeSantis and his team would seemingly rather eat broken glass than admit that they owe those two victories almost entirely to Trump. DeSantis would have looked better in the eyes of many if he simply stated: “I would not be governor of Florida today were it not for the critical endorsement of then-President Trump. While I remain deeply grateful, I believe the former president and I have some major political and philosophical differences, which is why I have chosen to run against him for the Republican nomination in 2024.”
Of course, while that may have been the honorable statement to make, former President Trump, his team and the tens of millions of Americans who support him, would, and do, see DeSantis only one way: disloyal to the man who made him politically. And therein lies yet another major problem for the Florida governor.
I have long maintained that DeSantis should have waited until 2028 to run for president. Aside from the mounting negative issues now plaguing his campaign, it’s never a good idea to take on a “cult of personality,” a category in which Trump continually proves that he is the “alpha male.”
Thanks to Trump, DeSantis did become governor of Florida and again, at least from a Republican and Florida voter perspective, has done an incredible job — and he is only 45 years old.
Beyond that, as evidenced by his almost 20-point landslide reelection victory in 2022, DeSantis had not only built a tremendous “It factor” in the state of Florida, but had taken it national and even international. Many saw him as a growing political force and the heir apparent for the presidency in 2028.
But, DeSantis decided — or was goaded into thinking — that 2024 was his year.
Now the question becomes: Has he flushed all of that goodwill and potential down the political toilet because he jumped the gun, seemed disloyal, comes across as aloof and continually makes one rookie mistake after another?
In an ominous sign that the “Good Ship DeSantis” continues to take on water — which began the day he made his cringeworthy announcement for president via a glitchy Twitter audio interview — Chris Jankowski, the CEO of the major super PAC behind DeSantis, recently resigned “effective immediately.”
Ouch.
Jankowski’s resignation from the Never Back Down PAC comes amid reports of repeated in-fighting between the PAC and DeSantis’s campaign leadership, with the latest episode coming after the PAC’s attack ads against former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley backfired against DeSantis in follow-up polling.
Major disagreements between the PAC and the campaign have devolved into “shouting matches.” Never a good sign for team morale. Especially as Haley continues to make in-roads against DeSantis in the race to be second behind Trump.
Shockingly, not only is DeSantis starting to trail Haley in key primary states, but he is now polling over 30 points behind Trump in Florida. As in the state that just overwhelmingly reelected DeSantis in November 2022.
Not only is that Trump lead massive, it is also humiliating for DeSantis. As one major Republican operative in Florida told me: “DeSantis is taking his hard-earned state and national goodwill and turning it into a dumpster fire.”
As we have seen time and again, politics can be a fickle and cruel business. As a candidate, you can go from being “the next best thing” to “yesterday’s news” in a nano-second.
Unfortunately, politics is also a “what’s in it for me” business: Many donors, political allies and business leaders want — and expect — a seat at the table should the candidate prevail. But as predictably as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, if they sense failure, many of these people will instantly jump ship and swim towards the next “It factor” candidate in search of rewards for their support.
As the once sure-footed DeSantis continues to slip down the 2024 political mountain, the critical question arises: Will he become yesterday’s news for donors, the GOP elite, the voters and the next crop of Republican candidates come 2028?
If “yes” were a stock, it would be a strong buy.
Douglas MacKinnon, a political and communications consultant, was a writer in the White House for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and former special assistant for policy and communications at the Pentagon during the last three years of the Bush administration.
Has DeSantis also blown his chances in 2028?
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02.12.2023
If Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were a stock, a lot of people in the political world would have begun “short selling” it months ago.
While many on the Republican side of the political world believe DeSantis to be a nice guy and a good family man who saved Florida from the insanity of COVID-19 lockdown dictates, they also see him as someone not built for retail politics — he can come across as aloof, uninterested in the process, disrespectful of some major donors and prone to making one unforced error after the other.
Worse, some see him as not being a particularly loyal or grateful politician. The example which has been cited to me repeatedly is the totally irrefutable fact that without the endorsement of then-President Donald Trump in 2018, DeSantis would not have won either the Republican primary for governor or the general election against Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum.
Flash ahead five-plus years and DeSantis and his team would seemingly rather eat broken glass than admit that they owe those two victories almost entirely to Trump. DeSantis would have looked better in the eyes of many if he simply stated: “I would not be governor of Florida today were it not for the critical endorsement of then-President Trump. While I remain deeply grateful, I believe the former president and I have some major political and philosophical differences,........
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