Not so long ago, former President Donald Trump said that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was on his short list of vice presidential candidates.
Well, the governor was never really interested in being No. 2 on anybody’s ticket, and he started picking fights with that other top Republican who thinks he’s the best candidate to beat President Joe Biden.
Looking at all the things DeSantis has been doing since “abandoning” his presidential election campaign, I think he might think he still has a chance at being on the ballot in November.
Hear me out here. It might not be so far-fetched.
In addition to picking fights, DeSantis still travels around the country trumpeting some of the things he said while on the campaign trail.
He proudly tells everyone about his legislative battles against Disney and sending Florida National Guard troops, members of the Florida Highway Patrol and FWC and the Florida State Guard to the Texas-Mexico border to “do what the federal government has refused to do — which is to actually defend this country’s borders.”
Now, why would he be doing that?
In a recent article in Politico, which kind of confirmed my thinking, Jason Osborne, the House Majority Leader in New Hampshire said, “he’s like the boy in ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes.’” Maybe. And maybe it’s cathartic for DeSantis to be out and about because Trump called him a “sad little man.”
But perhaps it’s that DeSantis thinks with the former president facing considerable legal jeopardy, he still has a chance.
Back once again to that Politico article. A “Republican operative” in the know said, “I believe everything you’re seeing is part of a concerted effort by DeSantis world to keep the door open in the event that something in the race changes in the coming weeks that takes Trump out — like a criminal conviction and jail or prison sentence.”
It’s all speculation for sure! But it begins to make sense when you put everything together. And when you know the way DeSantis thinks.
We’ll see what FSCJ political science professor Daniel Cronrath has to say about that and more at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday when he joins me for a lively discussion on “Vote 2024: Path to the Polls.” I hope you will, too.
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