The question of whether Ron DeSantis would one day seek the office of president of the United States was likely settled on Election Night 2022, when he scored an overwhelming victory to secure a second term as governor of Florida. The only remaining query, absent a change of heart, was whether he would take the plunge in 2024, 2028, or beyond. However, Liberty Nation has learned DeSantis is beginning the process of hiring from within the ranks of his gubernatorial campaign staff for a presidential run in 2024.
This revelation does not necessarily represent a sure-fire, dead-cinch lock that the newest star in the conservative constellation has made a final decision to challenge former President Donald Trump and perhaps others for the GOP nomination. It is possible, for example, that he is assembling a staff in the event he does finally decide to run. But if he follows through, it would hardly be a shocking decision. After all, DeSantis has demonstrated wildly popular leadership while transforming his politically crucial state into a conservative sanctuary. At the same time, he has stolen center stage in the national culture war, well beyond the level of someone whose ambitions are limited to his own state. And there is another reliable sign that he is planning to run for president: He just announced the February release of his new book, The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival. Not much ambiguity there.
When is DeSantis likely to announce his plans? He might jump in right after the new year. Or he could choose to wait until spring when the Florida legislature is out of session, giving himself time to assess whether Trump is rising or falling over the coming months and taper his campaign accordingly. And with yesterday’s news that the J6 committee is recommending the Department of Justice bring criminal proceedings against the 45th president for his role in the riot on Capitol Hill, other potential candidates are also likely to emerge. Word is that Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is likely to announce early in 2023, and a handful of other potential candidates have been the subject of widespread speculation, including, but not limited to, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Tim Scott (R-SC), former VP Mike Pence, and ex-South Carolina governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.
How Will DeSantis 2024 play in MAGA Land?
Ron DeSantis (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
But, of course, the most fascinating element of a prospective DeSantis candidacy is the reaction it will elicit from the 45th president. The Donald has long been outspoken about his central role in DeSantis’s rise to power in 2018, when then-President Trump’s endorsement helped propel DeSantis to a narrow victory. But since the Florida governor’s blowout re-election in November, Trump has gone on the offense regarding DeSantis, terming him an ordinary governor, labeling him “DeSanctimonious,” and hinting that he possesses all manner of hidden dirt on the guy.
There have been two schools of thought about the optimal time for DeSantis to take a run at the White House. Some say he should strike while his iron is hot, right now, when his star has reached such heights, for we have no real idea how the political climate and the consequent outline of the 2028 presidential race will look six or eight years from now. It’s difficult enough to assess 2024.
Still others say a head-to-head clash with Trump, and the near-certainty of the 45th president going scorched-earth on him, will inevitably tarnish his sterling brand and diminish his future prospects. DeSantis is only 44 years old and so, the thinking goes, he has many years ahead in his political life, while Trump does not. And thus, DeSantis can just wait until Trump has left the stage and fulfill what appears to be his ultimate ambition absent the encumbrance of Donald Trump’s famously lengthy shadow.
One wonders if the once and, he hopes, future president doesn’t already know that DeSantis is going to challenge him. After all, anyone who has served as president of the United States will always, one way or another, have access to the most secret and reliable information in the world. So for the time being at least it appears the battle for the soul of the Republican Party lies just ahead and the fireworks will soon commence.
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