A new report in a European version of POLITICO has some humorous details about a trip recently undertaken by Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis overseas. In short, U.K. business leaders, with whom he met after visiting several other countries, were unimpressed and in some cases actively repulsed by DeSantis’s showing.
DeSantis has not formally launched a campaign for the Republican presidential nomination for the 2024 election, but that’s where relevant signs are pointing. Before traveling outside the country, DeSantis had been making stops outside Florida to politically relevant locations, even including a southern California institution associated with the late Ronald Reagan. DeSantis has been considered the most viable GOP option against Trump, but the governor would still have a long road ahead should he actually run. Trump is still leading by double digits in most polling, and if DeSantis hoped he could leverage some kind of establishment support or claimed know-how in foreign policy to boost his expected bid for president, it’s not quite working. Domestically, many GOP politicians have already endorsed Trump. Even the current leader of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) did so.
DeSantis gathered with business leaders at an event POLITICO said had the involvement of the insurance marketplace Lloyd’s of London. “He had been to five different countries in five days and he definitely looked spent, but his message wasn’t presidential,” a business leader and evident attendee said. “He was horrendous.” That individual also said DeSantis “looked bored” and “stared at his feet.” Another individual in the group referred to DeSantis as “low-wattage” during their encounters. The publication had anecdotal accounts from several others, which got as positive as characterizing the governor as “fine.” That’s it. Evidently, the extremist agenda DeSantis has been pursuing in healthcare, education policy, and more in his home state isn’t working. Read more at this link.
