Goodbye, Ron DeSantis

Ron DeSantis withdraws from the 2024 presidential race, after one of the worst campaigns in political history

A while back, I wrote that Ron DeSantis’s campaign had already gone tits up. My post proved prescient, as he just withdrew from the race today. He also endorsed Donald Trump for president, in an attempt to salvage some sort of political future from the 2024 presidential debacle.

Don’t feel sorry for Ron DeSantis, he’s rich now

DeSantis got into the race partly because Rupert Murdoch paid him $10–$20 million for a book deal. These deals are legalized bribery, but I don’t blame DeSantis for taking Murdoch’s because he and his family had no money. So he rolled the dice, took the bribe and ran for president. In a financial sense, he walks away a winner because he gets to keep the money, and he and his family are much better off in terms of their net worth.

One of the worst campaigns in presidential history

Unfortunately for DeSantis, he has run one of the worst campaigns in presidential history. He never had a real chance to beat Trump, and he barely pulled ahead of Haley in Iowa by a points or two. DeSantis never managed to click with voters, despite spending a ton of money to try to gain some sort of traction.

Worse, the people working for DeSantis appeared to have no clue what they were doing. Their social media content and political ads were shrill, nasty and a turn-off for voters. There was never a real argument made to vote for DeSantis, and instead, their focus was that he would enact Trump’s policies without Trump’s personality and enemies.

It was a stupid strategy, and it obviously blew up in his face.

Massive political damage has been done to the DeSantis brand

So DeSantis was smart to get out of the race when he did; there was no point in going on, and he had no path to victory. Staying in would have just wasted more money, time and resources. He was a non-factor in the New Hampshire polls, and there was no other state where he had any kind of chance against Trump.

DeSantis, however, has also shot himself in the foot and caused enormous political damage. If he had endorsed Trump and stayed out of the race, he would be regarded as a hero, and possibly the heir apparent in 2028. He might have even been seriously considered for a spot on the ticket as vice president, but that is very unlikely to happen now.

Instead, he has revealed himself to be terrible at retail politics. He comes across as stiff, and he is a nerd who cannot relate to people easily. That is completely unlike Trump, who is excellent at connecting with people. DeSantis on the campaign hustings was one of the worst things a political candidate can be: a bore. His lack of charisma hurt him once the Florida sheen fell away from him after he jumped into the campaign.

So DeSantis is going to limp back to Florida with his tail between his legs, and he will no doubt be welcomed back into MAGA by some voters. But he has also embarrassed himself and destroyed the sense of inevitability that he might be the 2028 presidential candidate.

What should DeSantis do now?

If I were DeSantis, I’d get my ass out onto the campaign trail and work feverishly to get Trump elected. I’d also make it a point to kiss Trump’s ass publicly to try to work my way back into Trump’s favor. If DeSantis has any kind of political future, it will exist solely because enough of the MAGA base decides to re-embrace him after he is seen making public amends to Trump.

So far, DeSantis has screwed that up already. Take note of the tone and content of his withdrawal announcement. His annoying, nerdish personality comes through, and his endorsement of Trump is grudging at best. Once again, he shows he has no sense of the moment, and no clue as to how to deal with Trump. That withdrawal statement is NOT going to impress Trump or win him over.

Right now, I don’t see that DeSantis has much of a political future. But he got his millions from Rupert Murdoch, so don’t feel too sorry for him.

UPDATE: Trump thanks DeSantis and damns him with faint praise. The line about “running a great campaign” was notable and amusing. Let’s hope the DeSantis voters get over their loss quickly and move back to Trump. If you hate the Deep State, Trump is the only game in town now. Love him, hate him, or just dislike him, that’s how it is now.

As he took to the stage in Rochester, Donald Trump told supporters tonight: 'I want to congratulate Ron on doing a very great job.'

Trump commended 'terrific' Ron DeSantis for his efforts in his campaign - as well as giving the Florida Governor's wife Casey a shoutout for her hard work.

The former president told New Hampshire: 'He ran a great campaign, I will tell you.

'He left the campaign trail today and he was very gracious and he endorsed me, so I appreciate it.

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