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It was one of Washington’s worst-kept secrets and on Wednesday it finally became official: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has joined the field of Republican presidential candidates challenging Donald Trump for the 2024 nomination. But will DeSantis, who has cast himself as a more electable version of Trump, be able to convince the GOP?
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has all the elite credentials of a prototypical US presidential candidate, from graduating with honours from Yale and Harvard Law School to earning a bronze star for meritorious service in the military. And Trump – who announced his presidential bid back in November – is certainly sensing danger.
For months now, the former president has tried to pre-empt a potential DeSantis presidential bid by trying to undermine him with verbal assaults. Amid reports the Florida governor was only hours away from announcing his candidacy, Trump launched a new round of attacks on Wednesday, calling DeSantis “disloyal”.
“He was, and is, a disciple of horrible RINO (Republican in name only) Paul Ryan, and others too many to mention,” Trump wrote.
“Also, he desperately needs a personality transplant and, to the best of my knowledge, they are not medically available yet. A disloyal person!”
But DeSantis has been gearing up for the fight. In the weeks leading up to the announcement he has toured the United States, notably visiting states that hold early nominating contests, including both Iowa and New Hampshire.
But perhaps more importantly, he has waited for the Florida Legislature to hand him a series of policy victories to lend him conservative credibility – including a six-week abortion ban, making it easier for Floridians to carry concealed weapons, and eliminating funding for diversity programmes at public universities.
In late April he also made his first overseas trip since 2019 to meet with Japan’s prime minister, a move The New…
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