Trump vs. The Unaware MAGA Governor

Ron DeSantis is a good governor. He doesn't know he is still MAGA.

Less than a week away from the Iowa Caucus and Chris Christie has dropped out and endorsed Donald Trump for President. The former New Jersey governor was sent in “to be the disruptor” of Trump’s path to the Whitehouse. According to Open Secrets, a website monitoring campaigns and their FEC filings, Christie’s Super PAC, Tell It Like It Is, spent $2.6 million in expenditures only “targeting against” Trump. Most of that spend is in New Hampshire. A small pittance compared to what others have spent.

The punditry has reasoned Christie, who launched his campaign in Manchester, New Hampshire, was visibly upset when that state’s governor, Chris Sununu, endorsed Nikki Haley. Audio was also released Wednesday on the internet of Christie at an NH townhall. Speaking to a small gaggle of reporters, he commented, “she has spent $68 million so far…[Haley] is going to get smoked…she is not up to this…”

Christie went on to say, “DeSantis  called me and is petrified,” concerning Trump. He had already mentioned in the conversation that the Florida governor had spent $59 million. 

These candid remarks come after an op-ed, in The Hill last week. Longtime Republican consultant, Douglas McKinnon, wrote “I have heard from two people very familiar with the DeSantis campaign — a major donor and a high-level political operative — that if the Florida governor loses the Iowa caucuses to former President Donald Trump as expected on the night of Jan. 15, he will either drop out of the race that night or make his announcement the next morning.” 

DeSantis vehemently denies the rumor and says he is “in for the long-haul.” 

Meanwhile, on the platform, X, many free speaking users are pontificating that “Vivek is surging!” The young billionaire candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, went on X in response to Christie’s withdraw from the race saying, “The system wants to narrow this down to a two horse race between Donald Trump and a puppet whom they can control.” 

He added, “that puppet is Nikki Haley…. and I am going to make a prediction, you are actually going to see  Ron DeSantis join her ticket. He’s going to be her V-P.”  

He claimed DeSantis won’t have any choice in the matter and warned his own followers to be aware and “do not get fooled by what is coming.” 

This election season has been anything but normal. It has featured debates that the frontrunner entirely skipped without the slightest bit of damage to his polling numbers. Trump has done better getting impeached twice by unhinged Democrats with Liz Cheney, and, having multiple indictments drip out against him by state district attorneys trying to fulfill campaign promises. His polls went up again, when his opponent’s Department of Justice and the DC federal court system seem to be colluding to jail him, and, every January 6 attendee. 

What is driving this unusual behavior? It is not only thought by “MAGA Republicans” that Trump had the 2020 election stolen. Many mainstream Republicans see the evidence. Republican controlled states like Georgia and Florida have tightened voting requirements. Independents and Democrats see it too. In 2022, the Honest Elections Project conducted polling that found 84% of Americans want voter ID requirements. 

Furthermore, in the era where some consider censorship ethical, transgender mutilation is proper mental health treatment, and that discrimination defined through the tenets of “D.E.I.” promotes fairness, the majority of the electorate, particularly among the common sense conservative base, is pushing back by demanding “Justice.” Fighting in public for the victories against the contrived indictments, and, standing for democratic principles like “one citizen, one vote” represents that Justice. 

As Florida governor, DeSantis enjoyed the support of MAGA, and later, all other Republicans. DeSantis’ 2018 campaign was nearly a disaster until he rallied with Trump and got his endorsement. He squeaked by his opponent, the troubled Andrew Gillum, by just 32,000 votes. Having majorities in the Florida legislature, he went to work. Then, COVID hit the USA. DeSantis’ response to the pandemic defined his first term, keeping Florida free and open.

In the “Free State of Florida,” as he would call it, DeSantis became an advocate for individual liberty against mandates for all citizens. He signed the Parental Bill of Rights and following amendments that protected students from local overreach by school officials. Furthermore, he went after “Woke Inc.,” by standing up to Disney and the CRT bureaucrats. He replaced the board at New College, the state’s classical liberal arts school. DeSantis hired conservative education reformer, Christopher Rufo, to transform the dying institution. He increased teacher salaries and public education funding. He cut taxes and led on real environmental conservation and was always ahead of the media with principled common sense answers. The Martha’s Vineyard flight was a brilliant highlighting of the border crisis. And, let’s not forget his administration’s excellent response to Hurricane Ian.

During election season, the DeSantis juggernaut was full steam ahead leaving no advantage unused. Donors poured in money and even funded an online media magazine, The Florida Standard with editor-in-chief, online influencer, Will Witt from Prager U. He endorsed school board candidates, a first for a governor. Election night saw the biggest win in forty years for a Florida governor. Also, 24 of 30 endorsed school board candidates won their seats. In 2021, Republicans passed Democrats in voter registrations. By the end of this year, some data watchers believe Republican registrations in Florida will outnumber Democrats by more than 800,000 voters. 

After another successful legislative session, it seemed only logical what career move DeSantis would make. And, in the old conventional thinking of Republican politics, DeSantis’ success story should translate to national victory. On May 24, 2023, DeSantis declared his campaign for the presidency. 

However, many Florida Republicans were upset, particularly MAGA Trump supporters. The common reasoning is the nomination rightfully belongs to Trump because of the injustices done against him. Everyday, more evidence comes out that the allegations of corruption in the 2020 elections are true. The stories of political injustice against January 6 people, like Rachel Powell receiving five year prison sentence for breaking a window, and, using a bull horn to rally rioters are heartbreaking. Ray Epps was given probation for rallying rioters. On video, it is shown that Epps encouraged the breaking of the bicycle rack police line. Yet, the man who was on the FBI most-wanted list, never was immediately arrested or served in pre-trial detention. He received his sentence by video conference.

Derrick Evans, a congressional candidate from West Virginia, served three months for walking in the Capitol. There is a video of him talking with police exchanging smiles and fist pumps with them. DOJ prosecutors have held people in pre-trial detention for more than three years for trespassing misdemeanors. Recently, US attorney, Matthew Graves, threatened to arrest thousands more for the same offense.

On the campaign trail, DeSantis does not directly acknowledge these injustices with a truly offended sensibility. That is the central core problem of his campaign. DeSantis has a huge advantage on Trump in the COVID argument. Even yesterday on the Fox News townhall, Trump tried to paint DeSantis as a Fauci supporter by parsing the governor’s statements. However, DeSantis’ statements on Fauci, or anything else, are lost underneath the Trump story of fighting the unjustified abuse of power containing hoaxes, fake news, lawfare, and show trials thrown at him.

In 2018, MAGA Republicans delivered Florida to Ron DeSantis. The populist enthusiasm of actually making Florida a great place was placed in the governor’s hands and he was faithful to that charge. “Make America Florida” apparel became popular. Yet, make no mistake, it is MAGA that manufactured the wineskin. Currently, Trump leads DeSantis by 40 points in the governor’s state. According to poll aggregator, FiveThirtyEight. DeSantis hasn’t polled above 30% since July 27, 2023. 

Trump realigned the Republican electorate, to stand in historical American principles. He has also expanded the base into Democrat strongholds like the blue collar middle class and currently polls in the 20% range among black voters. His economic tenets of equal opportunity, lower taxes, US energy production, deregulation, removal from bad treaties like the Paris Climate Accords, stopping Obamacare, which prior MAGA Republicans had been lobbying for since 2010 (Tea Party), were promises other republican presidents and legislators never delivered. His foreign policy based on peace through strength, moving the Israeli embassy to Jerusalem, and, common-sense border security which he ultimately funded through defense spending, are all historic American positions. 

On the state government level, DeSantis authentically rode that sentiment Trump built into a nationwide loyal coalition. He flourished under fulfilling the promises of America First for Florida. Now, he is in the national spotlight and the accountability to these narratives that MAGA Republicans demand are being asked of him. He has called January 6 sentences by the DC courts “excessive,” but has never made efforts to actually defend the protestors. He has not shared that Trump called for “peaceful protests” on that day in public comments. As governor he has not come to the aid of Florida citizens still in pre-trial detention. 

The level of injustice has built over years. The two-tiered justice system has become obvious and purely political rather than removed through rule-of-law impartiality. In his campaign and presidency, Trump exposed this reality, primarily on Twitter, and in the process, his communications actually destroyed the language construct of Political Correctness that ruled debate. However, even Trump is sometimes culpable. He used the Hillary Clinton classified server case to agree with his base to  “LOCK HER UP,” only to not make an attempt. 

Yet, Trump gets a pass because he has come from the outside for the purpose making America great again, and, is not supplied entirely from within the elite sphere of American politics. His great fight for the American people has raised his persona to “Folk Hero status” as stated by Charles Blow at the New York Times. 

DeSantis jumped into the race against a campaign that has been on a war footing since 2015 fighting one epic political battle after another against the shadowy overlords of “The Deep State.” It is Luke and The Rebels vs. The Empire. It is Gandalf and Middle Earth vs. Sauron and his minions, The Nasgood DOJ, Lord Engoron of New York and the Georgian, Fani Willis.  If DeSantis is not willing to engage in these battles with forthright answers for justice on behalf of his true constituency, he will be out after Florida has its presidential primary on March 19, 2024, or,  after he frivolously spends $160 Million on his voiceless, nuanced campaign.  

Afterwards, the only question to remain will be, “do the American people get Justice?”