Good grief, who did DeSantis hire? His advisers are idiots if they think a 2024 run does anything but damage DeSantis’ 2028 chances. Was Hillary’s campaign advisor willing to work for peanuts or something? If so, he’s still overpaid.
Dude, get real. Democrats would love for you to run – as a spoiler. You do have potential to do that much. You don’t have the moxie – yet – to take the nomination from Trump. Trump supporters as well as 90% of the conservative base have had it with Republicans in general. They aren’t content to wave flags at rallies; they demand results. If a bruising primary fight costs Trump the election, they will be taking their frustrations out on you.
Florida voters will be right behind. They hired you to do a job for them. That job doesn’t involve travelling around the world trying to look presidential. They expect you to finish what you started. Do that and they will back you no matter what. Fail them or worse, abandon them, and they will abandon you.
This is all Politics 101, Ron. I’m not telling you anything you didn’t already know.
The ‘will he, won’t he’ dynamic helps both you and Trump so long as the final answer is ‘not this go ’round’. Keeping Republican candidates in the public eye takes the spotlight off Democrat hopefuls as well as building interest. It helps assure a Republican victory in 2024 and sets up for another in 2028. A DeSantis/Lake ticket would be a beautiful thing in 2028.
But a primary fight now, against Trump, is political suicide. Trump’s supporters won’t forgive you. The remaining base that isn’t old school fiscal conservative (neo-cons for you whippersnappers) will hate you. No one – not even the rank and file Democrats – wants another four years of Biden or even of a Democrat. Trump is a known factor; you’re not. They will side with him but if you divide the vote, they will also develop a distaste for you – a very strong one.
Look, I know Trump isn’t making taking the high road easy. Being fair, he has so many knives in his back that the knives have knives stuck in them. I’m amazed he isn’t a paranoid wreck. I think you can understand why he’s so combative even with allies. Most of those knives came from Republicans.
Do the Christian, and smart, thing; forgive him and move on. When you are sitting in the Oval Office in 2028 right after the inauguration you can tell him to his face what a jerk he’s been. Remember the goal and don’t worry about the speed bumps.
Now, let’s get you ready for that 2028 run. First, you need better advisors. If your guys live by polling, get rid of at least half. Polls are at best unreliable and at worst can be used to manipulate both you and your supporters. You want an advisor team that has a track record of getting their person in office. You want people that can read the room, not just Real Clear Politics. The older school, the better.
Second. be Florida’s best governor EVER. Forget ‘looking presidential’ – you’re not Washington and Trump burned that playbook anyway. Go for competent and connected. Be able to correctly tell reporters what Floridians in any given area want – you’ll be amazed at how much that will impress your constituents. Get the job done and give Florida what it wants. That will line you up perfectly for a presidential run. Remember, Lincoln never visited Europe. Most presidents never left the US while in office. People want an America First candidate and that guy isn’t eating rubber chicken in Japan, capuche?
Third, work on your debating skills. Debating is hard work and you don’t want to have to learn the 401 level on the job. Now is a great time to start sharpening up for 2028. Eviscerating activist reporters is good practice. But seriously, the primary fight in 2028 is likely to be tough as there will be other contenders for Trump’s mantle if he does half as good as his first term. Now’s the time to prep those skills because debating isn’t something you can effectively cram for.
Finally, stop worrying about the small stuff. If you don’t like how you sound on video, get a voice coach. If you don’t care about it, don’t bother. Confidence, not pitch, is what sells. A great pitch from a poor salesman sells nothing. A confident salesman can sell ice to Eskimos and get repeat customers. Be that guy and sell your product: your political competence and policies.
See, at the end of the day, we just want someone to take care of the place. We don’t really care what he looks like or sounds like. We care about what he will do with the most powerful office in the world if we entrust it to him. Don’t sell us yourself – sell us your dreams and how you will accomplish them.
In 2028.
