{"id":2091535,"date":"2023-11-06T07:34:02","date_gmt":"2023-11-06T12:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-inflection-point-for-desantis-campaign-woes-isnt-what-he-thinks\/"},"modified":"2023-11-06T07:36:57","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T12:36:57","slug":"the-inflection-point-for-desantis-campaign-woes-isnt-what-he-thinks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-inflection-point-for-desantis-campaign-woes-isnt-what-he-thinks\/","title":{"rendered":"DeSantis&#8217; Campaign Woes: The Real Turning Point"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-inflection-point-for-desantis-campaign-woes-isnt-what-he-thinks%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2091535&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2>Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Faces Challenges in the Race<\/h2>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was asked by \u2064\u201cMeet the Press\u201d host and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/09\/18\/nbcs-kristen-welker-lied-repeatedly-about-democrats-extreme-abortion-position\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Democrat activist Kristen Welker<\/a> whether he thought \u201cthe former president\u2019s legal troubles are the reason that you\u2019re still in this race.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The nation\u2019s most influential and successful governor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/meet-the-press\/meet-press-october-29-2023-n1307811\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">answered<\/a>, \u201c[H]ad Alvin\u200b Bragg not politicized this back in April,\u2064 I \u200dthink probably the primary would be looking different. I mean, I think that that gave the former president more support. I think people felt that he was being treated unfairly, which\u2063 he was, in that circumstance.\u201d He \u2062added, \u201c[T]hat, I\u200d think, has been\u2062 a very important inflection point in this, because it highlights the weaponization of justice by some of these left-wing prosecutors. But here\u2019s the thing, ultimately: It\u2019s not about the past. It\u2019s not\u200d about all\u2063 these other issues.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3>DeSantis&#8217; Response and its Impact<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>DeSantis was correct to note that the Alvin Bragg \u200cindictment was an \u201cinflection point\u201d for Trump\u2019s success, but the governor would be \u200dwise\u2062 to\u200d understand that\u200d his response to that indictment was also an inflection point for his own struggles with the GOP electorate.<\/li>\n<li>Trump\u2019s polling strength flows from his three large bases of support. He\u200c has the Make \u200cAmerica Great \u200dAgain\u200b (MAGA) enthusiasts who love him, his policies,\u200d his campaign, and even his brash personality. They\u2019re the \u201cride or\u200d die\u201d part\u2063 of\u2063 the base.<\/li>\n<li>Trump has a second contingent of supporters who \u200dare \u200bsimply nostalgic for 2019 and the type of presidency Trump had at that time. These\u200d are \u200cpeople \u2062who recognize that the country and world are \u2064materially worse off under\u2063 a Biden administration and wish to have a president laser-focused on a thriving economy, constitutional judges, a secure border, and a foreign policy that defended national interest strongly while spreading peace globally.<\/li>\n<li>The third base of support is people who may not even\u200d like President Trump. Heck, they may \u200beven strongly dislike \u2063him \u2014 but they abhor what Democrats are doing by \u2062weaponizing law enforcement to target him, his family, his business, and every Republican voter and activist \u2064who supports him. That last group recognizes the Democrat strategy of imprisoning political \u2063opponents as a horrific attack on \u2064the \u200crepublic itself. DeSantis is correct\u2062 that\u200d the Alvin Bragg indictment helped enlarge the size and seriousness\u200b of this group.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>The \u2064Impact of DeSantis&#8217; Statements<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>But part\u200b of the reason \u200bthat group backs Trump is because of how DeSantis responded to the indictment.<\/li>\n<li>As \u200dTrump was facing arrest by Bragg, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/desantis-criticizes-manhattan-da-trump-probe-takes-veiled-swipe-rival-2023-03-20\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Reuters ran a story<\/a> on March 20, 2023, that began, \u201cFlorida\u2062 Governor Ron\u200b DeSantis, seen\u200b as a\u200d leading candidate for the\u200d Republican presidential nomination, broke his silence on Monday \u2064on the expected indictment\u2064 of former President Donald Trump for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-trump-lawyer-michael-cohen-settles-lawsuit-with-trump-org-right-before-trial\/\" title=\"Michael Cohen, ex-Trump lawyer, settles lawsuit with Trump Org just before trial.\">hush money \u2062payments<\/a> to a porn star, hitting out at a New York prosecutor but also taking a veiled swipe at Trump.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>The swipe wasn\u2019t really that veiled.\u2064 DeSantis said, \u201cI don\u2019t know what goes into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-has-no-plans-to-testify-in-grand-jury-investigation-as-likelihood-of-being-indicted-increases-report\/\" title=\"Trump Has \u2018No Plans\u2019 To Testify In Grand Jury Investigation As Likelihood Of Being Indicted Increases: Report\">paying hush money<\/a>\u200d to a \u200dporn\u200d star to secure\u2064 silence\u2062 over some \u2064type\u2063 of alleged affair, I just, I can\u2019t speak to that.\u201d Then he\u200c added\u2062 that he\u200d had\u200d \u201cno interest in getting\u2064 involved\u201d \u200cin a \u2062potential\u200c extradition of Trump\u200c to New York from his Mar-a-Lago\u2064 estate in Florida.<\/li>\n<li>The comment was praised by critics of Trump but disliked by many Republican primary voters. I personally remember when it happened because two women I know and \u200blove, previously quite fond of the governor, texted me their angry thoughts in response to the swipe. DeSantis\u2019 \u2062numbers began to plummet within two weeks and have never recovered:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Other Factors Contributing to DeSantis&#8217; \u2063Struggles<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>For many Americans, including nearly\u200d the\u2064 entirety of the Republican Party, what the Department \u2064of Justice and Democrat prosecutors up and down the Eastern\u2064 Seaboard are doing to Trump, his\u200d family, and his political \u2064party is a dystopian and authoritarian nightmare. In that context, giving any aid and comfort to his prosecutors \u2063is viewed as a betrayal and lack of judgment.<\/li>\n<li>It wasn\u2019t just that statement\u2062 in March. A\u200c few days\u200b ago, MSNBC\u2019s Willie Geist pressed\u200c DeSantis on whether he would support Trump if the\u200c former president were \u201cconvicted of \u2063attempting to overturn the 2020 election.\u201d Rather than push back \u2062on the inaccuracy of \u200bGeist\u2019s description of the charges against Trump, or talk about the evils of weaponizing the Justice Department to attack political opponents, \u2063DeSantis <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Morning_Joe\/status\/1720055342661259279\">said<\/a> that Republican voters would oppose Trump if Democrat lawfare against him \u2063were \u2064successful.<\/li>\n<li>He certainly has every right to campaign to win the Republican primary \u200cby arguing that Democrats\u2019 lawfare against Trump\u2064 should dictate Republican \u2063voters\u2019 choices, but it\u2019s not a good way to\u2064 demonstrate\u2062 that he\u2064 even remotely understands the threat to the republic itself that is posed by these political injunctions.<\/li>\n<li>To be fair, it wasn\u2019t just the lawsuit rhetoric that hurt DeSantis with Republican \u200cvoters beginning\u200b in March. Late March was also the point at which he flip-flopped on the Ukraine\u200d War.<\/li>\n<li>On March 14, Tucker Carlson, then of Fox News, posted responses he received about the Ukraine War from \u200dvarious presidential candidates. He also\u2063 highlighted those responses on his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FoxNews\/videos\/6366802600005305\/\">television program<\/a>. DeSantis\u2019 response was excellent and can be read <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TuckerCarlson\/status\/1635446265692532738\">here<\/a>. DeSantis said the United States should put its national interest ahead of a territorial dispute with Russia, that the conflict itself was not of vital \u200bnational interest,\u200b and that \u2062the U.S. should avoid subsidizing a prolonged conflict rather than working for peace.<\/li>\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-inflection-point-for-desantis-campaign-woes-isnt-what-he-thinks\/\" title=\"DeSantis' Campaign Woes: The Real Turning Point\">statement immediately received pushback<\/a> from\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2023\/03\/16\/ron-desantis-ukraine-pandering-tucker-carlson\/\">media<\/a> outlets who have <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/03\/14\/ron-desantis-is-flat-out-wrong-on-ukraine-and-the-role-us-should-play\/\">campaigned<\/a> \u200c for increased U.S. involvement in the conflict. \u201cDeSantis rattles establishment GOP after saying US interest in Ukraine-Russia war is not \u2018vital,\u2019\u201d read <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/desantis-rattles-establishment-gop-after-saying-us-interest-ukraine-russia-war-not-vital\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">one headline<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Within days, he had been forced into a walkback of his comments, adding that he believed the Russian president was a war criminal. \u201cRon DeSantis forced into U-turn after\u200d calling Ukraine war \u2018territorial \u2063dispute\u2019: Likely \u2062Republican contender for White House says remark was \u2018mischaracterised\u2019 but calls Vladimir Putin a war criminal,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2023\/mar\/23\/ron-desantis-ukraine-war-russia-territorial-dispute\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The \u2064Guardian<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>It was the \u200dwrong direction to move, particularly\u2062 as public opinion\u2062 in \u2064support of the proxy war \u200cagainst \u200cRussia has only <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/11\/02\/poll-plurality-of-americans-say-u-s-is-doing-too-much-for-ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">continued to plummet<\/a> in the months since.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>The Road Ahead for \u2063DeSantis<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Ron DeSantis\u200b is in second place\u200d in Iowa, 31.5 points behind Trump, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolitics.com\/epolls\/2024\/president\/ia\/2024_iowa_republican_presidential_caucus-8164.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">RealClearPolitics \u2063polling average<\/a>. The caucuses are still\u2063 two months away. The governor\u200b has put his energy into having an overwhelming ground game in Iowa and New Hampshire, with the idea that \u200bhe can show Trump is vulnerable\u2064 with a surprise couple of wins.<\/li>\n<li>This week, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who has unofficially supported DeSantis for months, is expected to\u2063 officially endorse him ahead of\u2062 her \u200bstate\u2019s caucuses in January. He continues to be the most \u200ceffective conservative\u2064 governor in the\u2064 country. His pitch was\u200c supposed to be that he has\u200b MAGA policies \u200cwithout MAGA baggage, and is effective at\u2063 getting conservative policies implemented.<\/li>\n<li>But if \u200che is going\u200d to try to get the campaign \u2062back on track, he \u200bshould understand how his own\u2063 comments have made \u200chim less attractive to voters who desire\u2064 his \u200bpolitical success, whether now or in the future.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"> <\/p>\n<h2> How did Governor\u200b DeSantis&#8217; response to the Alvin Bragg indictment impact his standing among Republican voters?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  \u200c Ayments\u2064.\u201d In that article, DeSantis criticized the \u2063Manhattan District Attorney\u2019s investigation into Trump, calling it\u200c \u201cpoliticized\u201d and questioning\u2064 the timing of the\u200b indictment. While it\u200c is understandable\u2063 that\u2064 DeSantis \u2063would \u2063want to defend a fellow \u2064Republican, his remarks did not sit well with many in the GOP \u200dbase.<\/li>\n<li>DeSantis\u2019 response seemed to\u200b undermine the seriousness of the charges against Trump and\u2062 gave \u200dthe impression \u200bthat\u200b he was more interested in protecting his political ally\u2062 than upholding the rule of law. This was a missed opportunity for DeSantis\u200d to demonstrate his commitment\u2064 to\u2062 justice and fairness, qualities \u2062that are highly valued by Republican voters.<\/li>\n<li>Furthermore, DeSantis\u2019 statements played into \u2062the narrative that he is simply\u200b a Trump loyalist and lacks the\u2064 independence and critical thinking required of a leader. While it is true that Trump enjoys a strong base of\u2062 support, particularly \u200damong the MAGA enthusiasts, DeSantis\u200c needs to distinguish himself \u200bas more than \u200cjust \u200ba Trump\u2062 clone in order to appeal to a wider range \u2064of Republican voters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>The Path Forward\u2063 for DeSantis<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>If\u200c DeSantis wants to overcome the challenges he faces in the race, \u2064he needs to show that he is his own person and not just a mouthpiece for \u200bthe former president. This means distancing himself from some of Trump\u2019s more controversial actions and \u200cstatements, while still\u2064 appealing to those who \u200dsupport Trump\u2019s policies and his\u2064 stance against the weaponization of law enforcement.<\/li>\n<li>DeSantis \u200dshould also use\u200b this opportunity to articulate his \u2064own vision for the future\u2064 of Florida and the country. What\u200d are his plans for the economy, education, healthcare, and addressing climate change? How does he\u200c intend to unite a divided nation\u2063 and restore\u200c faith in our democratic institutions? By offering a clear and \u2064compelling vision, DeSantis can set himself apart from the crowded field of Republican contenders.<\/li>\n<li>Lastly, DeSantis needs \u2063to address the concerns that many Republicans\u200b have about his response\u200d to the Alvin Bragg indictment. He should acknowledge that he could have \u200bchosen his words \u2063more\u2064 carefully and express\u2064 his \u200ccommitment to upholding the rule of\u200c law, regardless of political \u200daffiliations.\u200b This would demonstrate \u200bthat he is willing to admit his mistakes \u200cand learn from\u200c them, a trait that\u2063 is highly valued by voters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Conclusion<\/h3>\n<p>Florida Governor Ron DeSantis faces significant challenges in the \u2064race, as he tries \u2062to navigate\u200b his relationship with\u2063 former President Donald Trump and\u2062 appeal to a diverse Republican electorate. While DeSantis has shown strong leadership as governor, \u2063his handling of the Alvin Bragg indictment has raised \u2062concerns among some GOP \u200bvoters. In order to overcome \u2064these challenges, DeSantis must differentiate himself from Trump, articulate his own \u200bvision for the future, \u200band address the concerns about his response to the indictment. \u200bOnly by doing so can\u2064 he position himself as a viable\u2064 candidate and\u200b secure the\u200b support\u2062 he needs to win the race.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week, Kristen Welker, a Democrat activist and host of &#8220;Meet the Press,&#8221; questioned Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis about his continued involvement in the race, suggesting that it may be due to the former president&#8217;s legal issues. DeSantis, a highly influential and accomplished governor, responded by highlighting Alvin Bragg&#8217;s politicization of the matter in April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":605,"featured_media":2091536,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2091535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2091535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/605"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2091535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2091535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2091536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2091535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2091535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2091535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}