It is crucial whether America decides.
Brand new polls are out for the Republican primary race and the outlook looks awfully bleak.
President Donald Trump is up to 50 percentage points ahead of Governor Ron DeSantis, his closest competitor.
These surveys are a final wake-up call – no more hitting the snooze button.
Let’s be clear about what DeSantis is struggling with. He shares the “Anyone But Trump” vote with seven other GOP candidates.
Of course he has problems.
Barring a miracle, it will be Trump vs. Biden in November 2024, and the vast majority of voters will hold their noses and pull the lever.
But there is a way out – just listen to New Hampshire Republican Governor Chris Sununu.
“If seven of these candidates have the discipline to drop out, Trump loses,” Sununu said in a new interview this week. “Make it a one-on-one race, Trump loses.” There’s no doubt about that.’
So here we go: an appeal to the GOP field. If your poll numbers aren’t consistently in double digits nationwide, then get out!
That leaves two: Don and Ron. Everyone else just fills a podium on the debate stage.
President Donald Trump is up to 50 percentage points ahead of Governor Ron DeSantis, his closest competitor.
Barring a miracle, it will be Trump vs. Biden in November 2024, and the vast majority of voters will hold their noses and pull the lever.
But the other problem for DeSantis is that he is being criticized from all sides.
There is no one in the 2024 race facing as much relentless negativity as the governor of Florida.
Notice how the forces arrayed against him – on the left and the right – revolve around a single narrative that a candidate’s personality is more important than actual achievements.
Trump’s campaign sends out daily emails announcing an impending “KISS OF DEATH COUNTDOWN” for the DeSantis campaign. They once reportedly rented a plane to fly over the Iowa State Fair with a banner that read, “Be likable, Ron.”
The left-wing media likes to play this up because they want Trump to win the nomination. They expect him to be defeated by Biden in 2024, so they are happy to clear the way for him, just as they did in 2016.
“Awkward Americans See Themselves in Ron DeSantis: But Do They Like What They See?” Read a Washington Post headline.
“Given the choice of voting for him or having a pap smear done by a girl I went to high school with,” said one woman interviewed in the article, “give me the paper gown.”
OK then.
But is personality such an important quality?
Some of America’s greatest presidents were introverts. From John Adams to Abraham Lincoln to Dwight D. Eisenhower, it is often the hard-working leader who can succeed in an office where the showman makes big promises but fails to deliver on them.
In this age of short attention spans and short sayings, it’s fair to ask: Would any of these men have a chance of winning the job today?
Too many voters want someone like Vivek Ramaswamy, who raps on stage and makes quick jokes. That’s easy if he doesn’t have any political successes to defend.
Have we not learned our lesson, folks?
The left-wing media likes to play this up because they want Trump to win the nomination. They expect him to be defeated by Biden in 2024, so they are happy to clear the way for him, just as they did in 2016.
Trump’s campaign sends out daily emails announcing an impending “KISS OF DEATH COUNTDOWN” for the DeSantis campaign. They once reportedly rented a plane to fly over the Iowa State Fair with a banner that read, “Be likable, Ron.”
The country has lived through Barack Obama’s superficial charisma, Trump’s erratic antics and now Biden’s wavering, senile evocations of the soul of America.
What we need now is a return to seriousness.
Just 10 months ago, DeSantis was the victorious hero of the conservative movement, popular with every Republican faction and on the verge of a stunning re-election as governor.
As evidence of his broad appeal, he received about 65% of the vote in majority-Hispanic districts, up 16 percentage points from four years ago.
Florida has been one of the fastest-growing states in the country during the COVID pandemic, thanks in large part to the governor’s decision to make the Sunshine State a safe haven for those fleeing draconian lockdowns and sweeping public health guidelines flee.
Under DeSantis, Florida was among the first states in the country to block mask and vaccination mandates and reopen businesses and schools, but COVID death rates were higher in New York, where lockdown recommendations were adopted.
Most importantly, Florida’s economy replaced all of the jobs lost during the pandemic a full nine months earlier than the national average.
Thanks to a barrage of criticism, this one-time Republican champion has now been transformed into a kind of mini-Jeb Bush.
But why?
Whenever the Trump right or the left take action against DeSantis for political reasons, they fall on their faces.
Most importantly, Florida’s economy replaced all of the jobs lost during the pandemic a full nine months earlier than the national average.
There is a way through – just listen to Republican New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu. “If seven of these candidates have the discipline to drop out, Trump loses,” Sununu said in a new interview this week. “Make it a one-on-one race, Trump loses.” There’s no doubt about that.’
“Ron in lockdown should take a look in the mirror and ask himself why he’s trying to woo voters,” a Trump camp lackey said in a statement.
No.
It was President Trump who condemned the first Republican states for lifting COVID-era business closures.
When DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education Act in 2022, restoring the right of mothers and fathers to control what their children are taught in schools, President Biden called it “hateful.”
Biased media labeled the measure the “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” but when Americans were presented with the actual text of the bill, 61 percent supported it.
Look, it’s clear that DeSantis is more introverted and less capable than other candidates. He is a policy expert who thinks deeply about the policies he introduces. But it’s those qualities that helped him pull off Florida’s COVID miracles.
At the end of the day, I pray that my group comes to its senses. Despite the mudslinging, DeSantis’ resume remains intact. He deserves a fair, final assessment by voters smart enough to see through the smears spread by Trump, his allies and the left-wing media.
It’s long past time for the Republican Party to get behind Ron – before it’s truly too late.
