The Future that is Inevitable
OPINION
GOV. RON DeSANTIS was sworn in for a second term as Governor of the free state of Florida on Tuesday, January, 3rd, 2023. In a hypothetical GOP 2024 Presidential poll, Ron DeSantis has a strong lead over 45th President Donald Trump, 56% to 33% a 23 point lead of the former President.
Is this enough to sway voters away from Trump 2024? Obviously, a resounding yes. Let's look at the facts.
DeSantis V.S. Trump — The Future
Ron DeSantis is a proven governor, service man and conservative, who will be turning 45 years old next September. President Donald Trump, who will be turning 77 years old next June, is indeed, a proven president. However, when it comes to potential to serve, Gov. DeSantis has the clear upperhand.
President Trump has, of course, already served his first term. Making a single four year term his only option.
The fact is the days of a Trump leadership are much farther and fewer between than a DeSantis leadership.
DeSantis V.S. Trump — Losing a Grip on the Base.
President Donald Trump is strongly pro-vax. When asked about Vaccine hesitancy, The President replied:
“The vaccine is one of the greatest achievements of mankind.” and
“The ones who get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones that don’t take the vaccine…” And “if you take the vaccine, you’re protected.”
The reason this is relevant is the MAGA base is largely anti-vax… Precisely 47% of Trump supporters are anti-vax according to a Forbes report.
As President Donald Trump confuses a very large percentage of his base with opposing vaccine views, Gov. Ron DeSantis is actively fighting COVID-19 vaccines. Calling in december for a grand jury to investigate the vaccine, and its effectiveness. DeSantis is also openly outspoken against Dr. Anthony Fauci… Who was on President Trump's operation warpspeed task force.
President Trump has also been quite critical of Dr. Fauci in recents times since his departure from the white house. However, much of his base are left wondering why he did not remove Dr. Fauci from the task force during his time in office.
I think President Trump is definitely turning some supporters off with his stance on the COVID vax.
It should be noted Gov. Ron DeSantis has also fought vaccine mandates in the state of Florida.
DeSantis V.S. Trump — Taking the High Road
During the lead up to the 2022 midterm elections, the speculations began to circulated around the media. The DeSantis ‘24 train was beginning to grease its wheels. President Trump began his attacks, beginning by coining the governors new nickname “Ron Desanctimonious”
“Ron DeSanctimonious is playing games! The Fake News asks him if he’s going to run if President Trump runs, and he says, “I’m only focused on the Governor’s race, I’m not looking into the future.” Well, in terms of loyalty and class, that’s really not the right answer,” The President said in a Truth Social Post.
The President continued the thread:
“I also fixed his campaign, which had completely fallen apart. I was all in for Ron, and he beat Gillum, but after the Race, when votes were being stolen by the corrupt Election process in Broward County, and Ron was going down ten thousand votes a day, along with now-Senator Rick Scott, I sent in the FBI and the U.S. Attorneys, and the ballot theft immediately ended, just prior to them running out of the votes necessary to win. I stopped his Election from being stolen.”
President Trump also claimed to “know more about him than anybody other than perhaps his wife.”
While President Trump continued the attacks on America's favourite governor, Ron DeSantis was slow to punch back, Eventually saying:
“One of the things that I’ve learned in this job, when you’re leading, when you are getting things done, yeah, you take incoming fire. That’s just the nature of it,” The Governor said at a press conference.
“I don’t think any governor got attacked more, particularly by corporate media, than me over my four-year term. And yet, I think what you learn is, all that’s just noise. And really what matters is, are you leading? Are you getting in front of issues? Are you delivering results for people? And are you standing up for folks? And if you do that, then, none of that stuff matters.” He continued:
“And that’s what we’ve done. We’ve focused on results and leadership. And you know at the end of the day, I would just tell people to check out the scoreboard last Tuesday night” Referring to election night.
DeSantis is clearly showing dominance in the political battle. And this is all interesting, but what does it mean for the Trump or DeSantis base? Nothing really. However, it does mean something to the independent voters.
DeSantis V.S. Trump — The Open Minded
It's no secret that President Trump is known for his “Iconic nicknames” “Crooked Hillary” ‘Little Adam Schiff’ “Little Marco Rubio” “Sleepy Joe” “Lyin Ted” “Nervous Nancy” and “Pocahontas” just to name a few.
And not just the nicknames. It's also no secret President Trump is a vicious political opponent, and not one for the classic set of rules. This is what set President Trump apart from the others back in the 2016 GOP primary. And now the question remains, how does President Trump manage with independent voters? Not Well.
According to a recent poll, a whopping 66% of independent voters claimed to have an unfavourable opinion of the 45th President. While another poll shows Gov. Ron DeSantis with a 48% favored opinion.
In my humble and honest opinion, President Trump is losing ground with the independent voters because of his sometimes bull-headed forms of politics. We know that independent voters are crucial for a presidential election victory. If President Trump has any hopes of returning to the White House, he must get back on track with independents.
DeSantis V.S. Trump — Trump without the down sides?
Many have shared the popular opinion that Gov. Ron DeSantis has a major yet overlooked advantage over Trump… Which is that he is a lot like Trump.
Gov. DeSantis — like President Trump — is not a huge fan of the media. See video below.
As you can see, Gov. DeSantis remains perfectly calm under pressure from the media. Without confusing the viewers by getting lost in any rant of jargon. Many critics of President Trump see DeSantis as “Trump without the downsides.” An example of this accusation is in order.
President Trump, in the 2020 presidential election debates, was slammed by the media for constantly interrupting than Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden. Leading to Biden’s stunning jab “Will you shut up man?” See video below.
Many folks who are not democrat or republican, see this exchange and immediately come out with the impression that Joe Biden is a calmer and more collected individual than President Trump.
I personally have friends who are not on the left or right who watched the debates and began to lean more towards the Biden camp due to the poor performance by President Trump.
It’s hard to imagine a rambling Biden having the upperhand against President Trump in a debate, yet the video affirms this truth.
As a Trump 2020 supporter, I was greatly disheartened by President Trump's performance in the debate. I found his interruptions distracting from the major issues discussed.
DeSantis V.S. Trump — Wrapping up my analysis
In closing, I know many readers will find this article as a smear against President Trump. I want to make it very clear that is not my intention. I strongly supported President Trump in the 2016 GOP primaries, the 2016 general election, the 2020 general election and may very well support him in the 2024 presidential election.
However, I believe that the future of the republican party, and the future of the country is more important than my love and support for 45. Which is why I believe Gov. Ron DeSantis is the future leader of the conservative movement, and quite possibly the next republican nominee for POTUS.
As for President Trump,
There is most certainly a chance for a 2024 victory. However, I believe that he will have to accomplish a few things. First, secure stronger support from the independent voters. The bottom line is the numbers are bad for President Trump and they must improve if he has any intention of returning to the white house. Second, develop a firm, precise, and elegant political opposition to Gov. DeSantis. The fact is the party loves DeSantis and he has major support from the conservative base. The way to sway GOP voters towards Trump ‘24 instead of DeSantis ‘24 will not be name calling, interruptions and scandals.
At the end of the day, I don’t have a crystal ball!
Who do you think will be victorious? Do you think DeSantis can beat The Don? I hope my take allows you to analyze your decision a bit more thoroughly.
Thanks for reading.
