Even as he potentially faces a fourth indictment, former President Donald Trump continues to climb in every state and national public opinion polls and looks invincible in the 2024 Republican presidential primary race. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has remained in second place behind President Trump, but has seen his campaign panned by his detractors and Trump supporters as being dead on arrival.
Gov. DeSantis’s ongoing reboot of his presidential campaign has endured hiccup after hiccup, and now the latest polls show him dropping even further down behind Trump.
For many Republican and Democratic talking heads, operatives, and media types, the Fat Lady gas has already begun to sing for Team DeSantis.
Veteran operative Roger Stone recently told The Floridian that DeSantis would soon be out of cash and was “out of gas.”
But is DeSantis’s campaign over this early on in the campaign cycle?
In my opinion, DeSantis’s campaign could just be getting started, again.
DeSantis continues to traverse Iowa, changing his game plan from a top-to-bottom approach to a more traditional and proven bottom-to-top grassroots campaign strategy.
DeSantis recently fired his campaign manager Generra Peck and replaced her with his Chief of Staff James Uthmeier, who can be described as having little to no campaign experience.
The entire time, for the most part, is green and lacks many of the necessary political operative experiences that most serious presidential campaigns have.
This could be a good thing. Maybe.
But DeSantis’s presidential campaign is not about his campaign, it's about him.
He is the boss. He runs the show. He is the one that eventually wins or loses in the end.
The first Republican presidential debate is slated for August 17th in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and DeSantis has a golden opportunity to dismiss all of the negative perceptions that have be cast about him.
In other words, DeSantis could own the night and maybe, just maybe, gain the traction he needs to get him to an even level with Trump.
President Trump, who only recently said that he highly doubts he will attend the debate because he is so far ahead in the polls, cited that former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon both shunned debates.
"Why would you do that when you're leading by so much?" Trump asked. "Ronald Reagan didn't do it. Nixon didn't do it. Many people didn't do it,” said Trump.
If Trump does not show up for the debate, DeSantis and others cannot make it about Trump otherwise the former presidents wins the debate without even showing up.
DeSantis needs to keep his focus on President Joe Biden and his failures since taking office in 2019.
Trump surrogates and Trump himself are pushing the narrative that DeSantis is not relatable, let alone liked by voters who get to know him.
DeSantis needs to be assertive and must be authentic from now on if he has any chance to bridge the gap between himself and Trump.
Again, it’s still very early in the campaign, but this isn’t just any primary race.
DeSantis is in a political race against Donald Trump, who commands a huge and loyal base of support.
