Is It Already Too Late for Ron DeSantis?

In a sane and non-morally deficient Republican Party, Donald Trump would have been jettisoned long ago - certainly after January 6, 2021.  Yet, now that he has been indicted for financial crimes combined with likely campaign finance violations, Trump has grown in popularity with much of the Republcan base.  To say the Republican Party is moral bankrupt is too kind.  And in my view, the absolute worse thing that could happen to American and the world would be for Trump to ever regain the White House. But within the grievance driven, greed driven - i.e., those who want lower taxes regardless of the price -   and racist driven GOP core of the GOP morality means nothing (especially among evangelicals) and competence means nothing.  Enter Roan DeSantis who is wreaking untold harm in Florida and turning that state into a place I and others no longer want to visit in his effort to pander to and thrill the GOP base,  Based on polls and barring something happening to damage Trump - although nothing appears too foul or too criminal to shake the MAGA cult - it appears that DeSantis' preidential campaign may be dead on arrival.  The GOP is simply too far gone morally and intellectually to let go of the never ending circus that Trump provides for the base's entertainment and reinforcement of hatred.  A column in the New York Times looks at DeSantis' dilema.  Here are highlights:

The Republican establishment thought it could have Donald Trump’s political appeal without Donald Trump himself.

That’s why many of the most prominent voices in conservative politics and media have lined up behind Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, as the presumptive leader of the Republican Party in the 2024 presidential race. He combines traditional, elite credentials and orthodox conservative views with a pugilistic, Trumpish affect. DeSantis, goes the thinking, could hold Trump’s working-class supporters and reclaim suburban Republicans who decamped for bluer pastures in the 2020 presidential election.

To be the nominee, of course, DeSantis has to win the nomination. And to win the nomination, he has to topple Trump . . . . Trump’s pull is so powerful — his influence is so great — that he basically compelled much of the Republican Party, including would-be rivals, to defend him in the wake of his indictment by a Manhattan jury.

Besting Trump, in other words, will require a certain amount of skill, finesse and political daring.

He has to somehow persuade Trump supporters that he could do a better job — more effective and less chaotic — without disparaging Trump to the point where he, DeSantis, is no longer viable. And he has to do all of this before Trump can build steam and roll over him like he did his rivals in the 2016 Republican primary.

The problem for DeSantis is that it might already be too late.

According to a recent Fox News poll, more than 50 percent of Republican voters support Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, compared with 24 percent for Gov. DeSantis. According to a recent Quinnipiac University poll, 51 percent of Republican voters support Trump, compared with 40 percent for DeSantis. And according to a recent Morning Consult poll, 52 percent of Republicans support Trump, compared with 26 percent for DeSantis.

The weakest Trump has ever been among Republican voters was in the wake of Jan. 6, when it seemed as if the entire political class, Republicans included, was ready to cut him loose. But they didn’t. Prominent Republican leaders kept him in the fold. Conservative media defended his actions. He was vulnerable, yes. But he remained the dominant figure in Republican politics.

DeSantis could have struck when the former president was weak. He didn’t. And now the most likely outcome is that Trump takes the crown again, tossing his rivals aside like a collection of old dolls.

What’s clear in all of this is that the Republican establishment — DeSantis included, it seems — is as clueless about its situation now as it was when Trump came down the escalator in 2015. They seem to think that they can harness Trump’s energy without submitting to Trump himself. But Republican voters want Trump, and they won’t take any substitutes.

The draw of Trump is that he is an entertainer and a showman who will turn those skills against their political enemies. DeSantis might be more competent, but Republican voters don’t want a manager, they want a performer. If Trump’s opponents can outperform him, then, maybe, they have a chance. But in a fight for attention between a seasoned celebrity and a conservative apparatchik, I know where I would place my bet.