Do the Democrats really think Donald Trump is easier to defeat than Ron DeSantis? Do they still think so in the wake of the Florida governor’s launch debacle?
I’m just a conservative man of no notoriety, but had I been asked about how to declare a run for president, I’d have told DeSantis’ well-paid operatives that a Twitter feed with no visuals would lost on the people any Republican needs to win an election. Millions of us still watch cable. We sit down in front of our televisions at the appointed hour to watch favorite shows. That’s where we would’ve seen a successful DeSantis launch. Twitter lacks the gravitas needed to pack a punch for older conservatives who vote in every election. This launch should have been a Sunshine State rally, MAGA-style, with adoring fans and a sign depicting a woke heart with a stake through it.
Several conservative analysts, including Bill O’Reilly and Victor Davis Hanson, have said that the Democratic Party would prefer Trump over DeSantis as the 2024 adversary. They’ve beat him before, goes the theory, and believe they can beat him again. Others caution the Left to be careful what it wishes for. Also making the rounds is the assertion that due to the failure of Biden’s administration, it won’t matter whether Trump or DeSantis becomes the Republican nominee; either one will wipe the floor with Biden and Harris. It’s a positive note for negative times, but make no mistake. Whichever scenario plays out, the Democrat-left, insider Washington, and legacy media are all on the same page: retain central power at any cost.
Witness the latest Time cover, which features DeSantis peeling an orange. In the divide-and-conquer stratagems of the left, a bare-knuckle primary battle between Trump and DeSantis will hopefully damage each candidate enough to cause moderates and moderate Democrats who might vote for change to throw up their hands and vote for the Biden team again.
In a sane political environment, the primary battle between Trump and DeSantis would be gentlemanly. In debate, they’d respectfully disagree where policy and ideology diverge, and acknowledge each other’s successes in areas where they agree. The winner would come out having won the nomination without smearing his opponent. The sense would be that either man would make a good president, but one man legitimately bested his opponent based on merit, vision, and public perceptions about what direction the country should take once the leftists controlling Biden are dispatched.
But the primary campaign will be a knock-down, ugly fight. Knowing that Trump is beloved by many he’ll have to win over, DeSantis is keeping his criticisms within the bounds of propriety. But everybody knows he’ll have to start throwing haymakers if he wants to stay apace. That’s politics.
My view: the Democrats are foolish if they think DeSantis is a bigger threat than Trump. DeSantis hasn’t shown the ability to lead the electoral uprising needed to usurp the entrenched Deep State and send the Democrats packing.
Count me in with Trump, and the be-careful-what-you-wish-for crowd.
