Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis did not want to attack Donald Trump, even though the two men are opponents in the Republican presidential primary. DeSantis thought that either voters would flock to him because he’s such a winner (giant eye roll), or Trump would collapse at some point. Neither has happened—and maybe DeSantis is finally getting ready to unload on Trump.
With another Republican debate on Wednesday night, the “DeSantis War Room” tweeted “a running list of every one of Donald Trump’s fumbles, accidents, and confused moments from this year,” adding, “NOTE: this is why his handlers won’t let him debate.” You know what? It’s a long list with a lot of strong entries. Just for example:
Maybe this is intended to push Trump into the debate at the last minute. Maybe it’s intended to focus the media on Trump’s absence and offer a narrative about that. Maybe it’s a preview of what DeSantis will bring up at the debate.
But it’s almost certainly too little, too late. DeSantis has the hard-to-shake stench of a loser at this point. His poll numbers have been sliding all year, and his official candidacy and extensive campaigning have seemed to make things worse. Trump remains solidly above 50% in an average of national primary polling and above 45% in key early primary and caucus states, while DeSantis lags by huge amounts and is consistently polling in third place in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
DeSantis let himself look weak for months, so any big move he makes on Trump now will look desperate rather than strong. Here’s the question, then: If DeSantis does show up at the debate and try to paint Trump as confused and out of it, will the fun come from watching these important attacks land, or will it come from mocking how pathetic DeSantis is as he attempts it? Sadly, the most likely thing is that DeSantis will make a few half-hearted efforts and the whole thing will fizzle, if he even goes for it.
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