DeSantis’ Presidential Hopes Over? ‘I’m Not So Sure,’ Former Fla Republican Says
Morning host, once a Florida congressman, warns Americans not to count governor out
There have been recent signs pointing to the very real possibility that hopes for a Ron DeSantis presidential campaign are over even before they started.
The Florida governor's fellow Republicans have begun to turn against him for his obsession over punishing Disney — the largest employer in DeSantis’ home state — over the company's public opposition to his pet “Don't Say Gay” law.
He continues to lose big-dollar donors — like John Catsimatidis, a supermarket and property magnate with an estimated $4.1 billion fortune — over a variety of frustrations with DeSantis.
And chief rival, Donald Trump, has captured more public endorsements than DeSantis — even among Republicans in the governor's backyard in Florida.
Finally, don't forget that DeSantis would enter a bruising contest for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination more than 30 points behind Trump, who quickly is establishing himself as the favorite to win the nomination.
Despite all those things, however, one former Florida Republican warns Americans not to count DeSantis out.
“So, Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis were in Iowa this past weekend. And of course, the press has been saying, ‘It’s over for DeSantis.’ I’m not so sure,” said Joe Scarborough, co-host of MSNBC's Morning Joe and a former Republican who once represented a swath of northwestern Florida in Congress. “I just offer a warning to everybody in the press that’s saying Ron DeSantis is done, there’s no way he can win. I’m not so sure.
“Because, at the end of the day, as DeSantis said, Republicans have a culture of losing right now that’s wrapped around Donald Trump,” added Scarborough, who regularly recounts, on-air, all the ways Trump has been an albatross to the Republican Party since 2016. “And would they really want to try to, quote, ‘own the libs' more than start winning elections again? I’m not sure.”
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