Up to around March, Ron DeSantis seemed to be the great new hope of the GOP, one who could oust Trump from the number one spot as the likely nominee for the presidency. A gift for all those who said they wanted Trumpian policies without the Trump crazy. But soon after, and despite his early reputation as the potential Trump-slayer, DeSantis seemed to have run out of steam before he even officially declared his candidacy.
How has DeSantis slipped so badly? According to a Politico article, in December 2022, DeSantis held an early lead over Trump among GOP primary voters. Fifty-two percent of likely GOP primary voters in the poll preferred DeSantis, compared to the 38 percent who favored Trump in a hypothetical primary race for the Republican nomination. But then came the crash: according to a Newsweek article, DeSantis’ approval rating has collapsed and he has a major unfavorable rating from those aged 18-34 (63 percent), women (62 percent), as well as African Americans (85 percent), and the Hispanic/Latino population (68 percent).
It almost looks as if DeSantis’ slippage comes from self-inflicted wounds. He downgraded Ukraine’s defense against an ongoing Russian invasion as not part of the “vital national interest” for the United States — an awkward sortie into international politics which earned him caustic anger from both fellow Republicans and Democrats. That was followed by the most open warfare to date between DeSantis and Trump, whose allies blasted the governor as a “weasel” for raising the subject of Trump’s alleged hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels in a backhanded attempt to denounce the possibility of criminal indictments.
His public relationship with Trump is baffling. Trump has taunted him relentlessly, launching barbs against DeSantis on everything from his handling of Covid-19 to his long-running feud with Disney — with the former president predicting DeSantis would be “absolutely destroyed” by the company, and yet DeSantis has for the most part refused to engage in any repartee or rebuttals. “I don’t spend my time trying to smear other Republicans,” he replied. He may think he is taking the moral high road, but this meekness has come across as fear and weakness. As someone who could never stand up to the brutality of a direct confrontation with Trump in a debate.
Not only has he failed to peel away Trump Republicans—a segment of the electorate that he would need in order to get the nomination—but there is now a more widespread question about whether he is able to even court the voter—his bedside manner distinctly lacks charisma. And he doesn’t seem to care; he prefers to challenge the voters rather than woo them.
There are more reasons why Ron DeSantis is polling badly. According to a Vanity Fair article, he is a big proponent of disenfranchising voters and has signed a slew of laws that make it harder for people to cast ballots for their candidates of choice. This includes limiting the use of drop boxes, hampering Floridians’ ability to vote by mail, and preventing the distribution of food or water to voters waiting on long lines. Memo to DeSantis: hostility towards voters does not pay.
And let’s not forget his relentless culture war on “wokeness” and persecution of the Disney company. While he may curry favor with some voters, the intensity of his campaign comes across as bullying—and that doesn’t make for good optics.
He currently trails the front-runner —a twice-indicted former President — by more than 30 points in one recent Fox News poll.
In interviews on Fox some days ago–one with Maria Bartiromo–he was asked outright why his polling numbers are so low. At first, DeSantis blamed the “corporate media,” whom his campaign shut out for a time, for his inability to gain traction in Republican polling.
“Well, I think if you look at the people like the corporate media, who are they going after, who do they not want to be the nominee? They’re going after me,” DeSantis said. Then as a second thought, he added that he’s also been attacked by the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, which could also explain the low numbers.
Blaming the president of Mexico? “Who’s the president of Mexico attacking because he knows we’ll be strong on the border and hold him accountable in the cartels? He’s going after me,” DeSantis whined. He then added, “if you look at all these people that are responsible for a lot of the ills in our society, they’re targeting me as the person they don’t want to see as the candidate.” Who are “all these people”, we may ask.
The list in his mind is growing: corporate media, the president of Mexico, the faceless and vague “people”, etc. The only person missing from that list is the one he sees in the mirror.
