Florida Governor and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, who is campaigning that he would be able to serve 8 years as President of the United States, says that he will be a “lame duck” his last two years in the White House, if he is elected President.
Gov. DeSantis, who has also asserted that it takes 8 years to “get the job done, says that he will be ready for the job on Day 1, but during a recent interview with Glenn Beck, DeSantis stated that he would be a “lame duck the last two years” of his second term in office.
DeSantis’s candor could be seen as refreshing and honest, but it also could be seen as a weakness by someone who acknowledges that his potential future presidency could and probably will face many political and legislative obstacles that will render him a “lame duck.”
“You can serve 8 years, but you really only have limited windows to really strike and get a lot of big things done with Congress, you don't have a full eight years there's an ebb and flow,” said DeSantis before stating potential legislative opportunities over an 8-year period that a president could encounter.
“And then you’re a lame duck the last two years,” added DeSantis who also asserted that while he believes he would only have 12 to 18 months to push his agenda in Congress, he will “be ready on Day 1.”
Holy cow! This is so 🔥🔥🔥
Ron DeSantis is an effective, determined, bold, intelligent, mature, proven, conservative leader with integrity.
I’m #withDeSantis because 👇#DeSantis2024
Video credit: The Glenn Beck Program pic.twitter.com/jiqmtn7xjn
— Jo Thomas (@rthomas86) November 17, 2023
Earlier this year, DeSantis acknowledged that it would take two terms to “finish the job.”
“Let’s just be clear, it really does take two terms as president to be able to finish this job," DeSantis said and then added: "And I don’t think he could fix it in one single four-year term.”
Former President Donald Trump, who is currently leading DeSantis, Ambassador Nikki Haley, and the rest of the field of GOP presidential candidates by an average of 30+points in all the public opinion polls, has pushed back against DeSantis, arguing that he didn’t need eight years to fix things, rather six months.
Six months?
"The thing I'll say about DeSantis: He says eight years is important. He said in the he's going to need eight years. I don't need eight years," Trump said. "If he needs eight years to turn it around, you don't want him as your president."
President Trump has relentlessly hit DeSantis on this issue.
Nikki Haley's Big Unforced Error
"I can turn this around so fast, getting inflation down, getting interest rates down, getting the economy back. This is going to take six months," he said. "When I hear him saying he needs eight years — if he needs eight years to turn it around, you don’t want him as your president. I can tell you that."
Yes, President Trump, who is 4 indictments and 91 criminal charges, is the odds on favorite to win the Republican nomination, but could DeSantis or Haley pull off an upset in the coming months?
DeSantis is arguably Florida’s Greatest of all Time (GOAT) governor and has done many bold and unprecedented things that have helped Floridians since he first took office in 2019.
Both DeSantis and Trump have their vulnerabilities, but Trump appears to have the votes if you take stock in all the state and national public opinion polls.
But DeSantis appears to be showing signs of gaining traction and could garner the support of Iowa’s highly coveted Evangelical community.
This would be a big get for DeSantis, but the problem that he faces is the challenge he is receiving from former Ambassador Nikki Haley.
DeSantis has made the case that the race was solely between him and Trump, but Ambassador Haley’s recent nationwide surge among potential voters has forced Team DeSantis to open up an unexpected campaign battlefront.
Haley is currently challenging DeSantis in Iowa for second place, but beating him comfortably in New Hampshire and her home state of South Carolina. Haley recently made a huge unforced campaign error by saying that she wanted every social media companies to verify everyone that was online.
Again, polls are polls and the only poll that matters is the one conducted by the actual voters on election day, but these surveys cannot be ignored or dismissed.
Trump has increased his lead over both DeSantis and Haley in the latest Harvard-Harris poll, which shows both candidates sinking down to single digits, and he has increased his lead over DeSantis in Iowa by 10 points in the latest Iowa State University survey.
The Fat Lady is putting on her makeup and tuning up her voice.
