Considering the pace of his frenzied freak-outs, Donald Trump still seems to be worried about others in the Republican Party potentially trying to take over as effectively the leader of the political group as he mounts what is his third bid in a row for the presidency.
Near the top among those who potentially could topple him is Ron DeSantis, the GOP governor of Florida. Although her take is one of many, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) has actually already claimed DeSantis to have that role, all of which is relevant in how it affects who eventually wins the GOP nomination for president ahead of the 2024 election. The potential threats posed by Trump and DeSantis are simply different. The Florida governor has a record of getting things done for the far-right cause, whether that’s in new restrictions for the handling of elections, limits on abortion, or push-back to basic educational freedom.
“City, State, and Federal (DOJ) Prosecutors throughout the Country are practicing good ol’ ELECTION INTERFERENCE, at a level that our Country has never seen before,” Trump insisted on Truth Social, his knock-off social media site. “They want to take out the undisputed leader of the Republican Party. The bigger the lead I take, the more CRAZY they become. AT THE SAME TIME, THEY DO NOTHING ABOUT THE BIDEN CRIME FAMILY!” Investigators doing their duly documented work doesn’t constitute interference in the upcoming election — or any election — according to any reasonable and widely accepted metric. If someone is running for office, should they just get a free pass for potentially criminal behavior? That’s not a great idea for the government’s stability.
Elsewhere, the simple fact is that polling of the 2024 presidential race measuring prospective voters’ opinions in potential match-ups is mixed. Trump isn’t the overwhelming leader. DeSantis, for his part, hasn’t actually announced a campaign for president, although he’s the subject of incessant speculation he might.
