The way President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are going at it you’d think it was November already.
No, it’s eight months away, but the battle royale is intensifying and both are coming out swinging at each other.
We’re also getting a good idea of how their financial plans differ. And Biden is lambasting Trump for saying he’d cut Social Security.
Trump’s reported lavish praise for despots and autocratic leaders is ringing alarm bells.
And if you thought Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was out of the running in the bid for the White House in 2024 some things he is doing might have you wondering: Is he really?
Not so long ago, Trump said that DeSantis was on his short list of vice presidential candidates.
Well, the governor was never really interested in being No. 2 on anybody’s ticket, and he started picking fights with that other top Republican who thinks he’s the best candidate to beat Biden.
Looking at all the things DeSantis has been doing since “abandoning” his presidential election campaign, I think he might think he still has a chance at being on the ballot in November.
Hear me out here. It might not be so far-fetched.
In addition to picking fights, DeSantis still travels around the country trumpeting some of the things he said while on the campaign trail.
He proudly tells everyone about his legislative battles against Disney and sending Florida National Guard troops, members of the Florida Highway Patrol and FWC and the Florida State Guard to the Texas-Mexico border to “do what the federal government has refused to do -- which is to actually defend this country’s borders.”
Now, why would he be doing that?
In a recent article in Politico, which kind of confirmed my thinking, Jason Osborne, the House Majority Leader in New Hampshire said, “he’s like the boy in ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes.’” Maybe. And maybe it’s cathartic for DeSantis to be out and about because Trump called him a “sad little man.”
But perhaps it’s that DeSantis thinks with the former president facing considerable legal jeopardy, he still has a chance.
Back once again to that Politico article. A “Republican operative” in the know said, “I believe everything you’re seeing is part of a concerted effort by DeSantis world to keep the door open in the event that something in the race changes in the coming weeks that takes Trump out — like a criminal conviction and jail or prison sentence.”
It’s all speculation for sure! But it begins to make sense when you put everything together. And when you know the way DeSantis thinks.
FSCJ political science professor Daniel Cronrath joined me Tuesday for a lively discussion on the Biden-Trump showdown, DeSantis’ motives and more.
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