What a Ron DeSantis – Donald Trump Debate Would Look Like: Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is sitting on top of a massive campaign war chest worth $100 million.
It has scared former President Donald J. Trump, who is running for reelection in 2024.
Sure, Trump has outmaneuvered the Florida governor in getting key campaign endorsements.
Although DeSantis has yet to officially announce his run for office.
And Trump knows that once DeSantis fully enters the race, he might have real competition for the GOP nomination.
DeSantis, for his part, has made many unforced errors.
His biggest mistake has been sticking to his ridiculously meandering campaign strategy.
His delay in making his official announcement has given Trump added advantages to score early—and what might be decisive—hits on whatever presidential campaign DeSantis was concocting.
It’s not over for DeSantis, but he does now have a very steep hill to climb against Donald Trump.
The Great Debate 2024
Let’s say that the problems DeSantis will face after he announces his bid for the White House following the end of the Florida legislative session later this month, we need to consider what things will look like when he faces Trump. Especially in the case of the coming debates (which Trump has recently said he doesn’t even understand why there needs to be any).
Should Trump and DeSantis square off, it’s first important to understand that they will not be the only two candidates on stage. This is not just because other candidates have placed their hats in the GOP ring, but also because the Republican Party’s leadership has no backbone.
Of the handful of candidates who’ve announced, only Trump and DeSantis are the real candidates for president on the Right.
The presence of multiple candidates will only serve to increase Trump’s advantages. This is precisely what happened with Trump in 2016, when he faced large numbers of opponents, and was able to divide and conquer the GOP field.
Ron DeSantis will likely have to fend off attacks from multiple fronts at the start of the campaign. He might be able to work with some of the other Republican candidates to blunt Trump’s attacks. Although, enraging Trump’s base seems to be off-limits for most GOP politicians and aligning with DeSantis to beat Trump might be a bridge too far for those GOP presidential contenders.
Regardless of what happens, the real fight will likely be between Trump and DeSantis. It will be an interesting thing to see. Trump is a dynamic debater. He doesn’t so much command the issues as he outmaneuvers his opponents with withering verbal assaults and pithy, Twitter-friendly, emotionally charged slogans.
Ron DeSantis Should Embrace His True Nature
DeSantis, on the other hand, is disciplined. Florida’s governor not only has a strong command of policy, but he has an incredible record of leadership enacting those conservative policies.
This is in stark contrast to former President Trump, who talked a big game—particularly in 2016—but had difficulty delivering on even half of his promises. Today, Trump is attacking DeSantis from the Left on several issues which, for a GOP primary, is mind-boggling.
Nevertheless, DeSantis’ conservative bona fides are far better than those of Donald Trump. The problem is that DeSantis does not do well in debates.
In 2018, when he ran against Adam Putnam for the GOP nomination for Florida’s governor, and then later that season, against Andrew Gillum, DeSantis performed poorly. He managed to squeak by to victory but that was not because of his debate performance.
In 2022, he did much better against Charlie Crist. Still, his debate performance was adequate. Many of Trump’s surrogates are, frankly, correct that DeSantis’ discipline may make voters think that he’s boring. A little boring can be acceptable. Too boring, however, is the death knell for a modern political candidate. Any debate that DeSantis has with Trump will be painful and problematic.
DeSantis cannot change who he is. Trump is freewheeling, braggadocios, and mean. DeSantis is thoughtful, circumspect, and respectful. DeSantis should turn into these admirable traits and use them both as a shield against Trump’s vicious attacks as well as a weapon to attack Trump with.
Ron DeSantis remains the best hope for the GOP going forward. The question of whether he can overcome Trump’s orange fireball routine remains to be seen.
A 19FortyFive Senior Editor, Brandon J. Weichert is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, as well as at American Greatness and the Asia Times. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower (Republic Book Publishers), Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life (May 16), and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy (July 23). Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
