Ron DeSantis was preparing to give an interview to CNN, the first to a media outlet unaffiliated with the right since announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination, when Donald Trump announced he expected to be charged in a new federal lawsuit over his role in actions to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. This comes at a time when rumors are circulating about the difficulties of his campaign, which has already begun to cut staff due to financial problems.
And if there was any doubt about the obstacles the Florida governor faces in getting his candidacy for the Republican nomination off the ground, take a look at the polls to prove them. The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows 47% support for Donald Trump, versus 19% for DeSantis. Worse yet, the gap between the two seems to be widening, despite the fact that lawsuits continue to pile up against the former president – a few days ago, a judge scheduled for May 20, 2024 (in the middle of the Republican primaries trial) the millionaire’s trial for mishandling confidential documents.
But what actually happens with the DeSantis campaign? Without taking off in the polls, criticized for his lack of empathy in communicating with voters, for his unfortunate foreign policy pronouncements, and with financiers increasingly skeptical of his chances of winning, the Florida governor is promising radical change. From now on, fewer big speeches and more handshakes at dinner parties and churches are expected, more focus on the country and fewer references to Florida, in addition to easier access to the mainstream media and no longer just interventions almost exclusively in the media of the right.
In that interview with CNN, DeSantis downplayed the issues pointing to her campaign, built around the idea of freeing American society from waking culture — which focuses on the defense of LGBT rights, critical race theory, feminism, and policies to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Questioned by Jack Tapper, DeSantis recalled that “they always said I wasn’t doing very well as governor”. As for the fight against “wakeness”, which even drew him criticism from financiers, who accused him of focusing too much on issues that interest only the most conservative sectors of the Republican right, the governor admitted that “a lot of people don’t know what wake is”, without, however, giving up on the attacks on a culture that his wife, Casey, also criticized when she wore a jacket that read “Where wake goes to die” – “where wake goes to die”.
Aware that Trump—his former mentor turned enemy—remains a hot favorite for the Republican nomination despite his struggles with justice, DeSantis turned the guns on the millionaire. But as for his alleged involvement in the attack on the Capitol by a mob of his supporters, in January 2021 the governor admitted that the former president “could have done more” to prevent it,” but declined to let the issue mark the campaign for next year’s presidential election.
Despite criticism after calling the war in Ukraine a “territorial dispute”, DeSantis persisted. On CNN, he reiterated that this is “a matter of secondary or tertiary importance,” even though he said he was “willing to help find a solution.”
On the financial issue, DeSantis, who has collected more than $20 million since entering the race in May, assured that the recent firing of some of his campaign aides was just an adjustment.
DeSantis declined to explain whether, if elected president, he would apply the law he introduced in Florida that bans abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. DeSantis simply repeated, “I’m pro-life. I’ll be a pro-life president.”
It remains to be seen whether this strategy of attacking Trump from the right as he tries to present himself as more suitable in the face of Joe Biden than the former president will actually work with Republicans.
Source: DN
