Whatever debate there is about the 2024 presidential race, and about whether Republicans should nominate former President Donald Trump or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, it is not much of a debate at all. Both men, and the establishment media that hate them, have made it clear who the right answer is.
DeSantis has a campaign war chest of $122.5 million. While he coasts toward a likely reelection in Florida, he has also given $2.5 million to the Florida Republican Senatorial Committee in hopes of expanding his state party’s majority in the state Senate. It is the largest contribution to the committee since it was created in 2014.
Meanwhile, Trump’s PAC, Save America, is hoarding its $99 million haul while siphoning grassroots donations that should be going to competitive races this year. Save America spent $4 million in July, but just $200,000 of that went to GOP candidates, by way of the Arizona First Project. The Arizona First Project then spent $100,000 to primary Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, a Republican who opposed Trump’s absurd election conspiracy theories. Trump’s PAC is otherwise not very interested in sending money, not even to the candidates whom Trump himself has endorsed.
The contrast is stark between DeSantis trying to boost his state party and govern more effectively and Trump tanking Republicans’ chances in those 2021 Georgia Senate runoffs. But if that isn’t enough, why not let establishment media and Democrats tell you who they want? After all, they have pushed Trump into the news as often as possible, including with the drawn-out production of the Jan. 6 commission.
Who does the media view as a bigger threat than Trump? Let’s ask Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times, as reliable a Democratic partisan as you’ll find in the media. DeSantis “may be a more competent Trump” when it comes to wielding power, and “he’s also meaner and more rigid, without the soft edges and eccentricity” of Trump. In his piece, Bouie claims that DeSantis is less likely to win a general election than Trump, but that’s a political analysis that likely misses the mark.
The more important takeaway is that Bouie thinks DeSantis is more competent and meaner than Trump and doesn’t have the same “soft edges,” meaning that he would likely deem DeSantis the bigger threat should he actually become president. Democratic strategists and other liberal pundits, including Andy Levy and Molly Jong-Fast of the Daily Beast and the Washington Post’s Max Boot, are already on that boat. The worst Republican is always the next Republican, and they are far more afraid of DeSantis being next than a Trump sequel.
Trump accomplished some great things during his four years as president, exceeding all expectations. He also left the party battered and bruised because of his ego. He doesn’t want to help Republicans win, and Democrats want him to lead the Republican Party. The opposite is true for DeSantis.
The path forward now is clear — the future of the Republican Party is brighter than its past.
