DeSantis Most Likely Running For President, But Can He Take on Trump?

© AP Photo / John RaouxFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Feb. 24, 2022, in Orlando,
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Feb. 24, 2022, in Orlando,  - Sputnik International, 1920, 07.07.2022
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was born in Jacksonville, Florida. He graduated from both Yale and Harvard before joining the Navy and was deployed to Iraq in 2007. He later became a federal prosecutor before entering politics. The governor is also known for championing controversial new laws that have drawn condemnation from human rights groups.
DeSantis is likely to run for president despite the fact that doing so would pit him against former President Donald Trump, to whom many in the Republican party are afraid of showing any signs of “disloyalty.” Moreover, Trump’s favorability rating among Republican voters hasn’t fallen much since he left office, but that hasn’t yet stopped other party heavyweights from eyeing a bid for the seat of the commander-in-chief.
“My belief is they’re all going to run, and a big reason they’re running is based on the fact that if Mike Pence can run, we can all run,” said Tony Fabrizio, a Republican pollster and strategist. “What’s the loyalty argument if your vice president is running against you for president?”
Despite being the only U.S. president to be impeached twice, polls currently show him to be leading a hypothetical Republican race with a 42% favorability rating. However, he may ultimately decide not to run, as he’s still under investigation by the New York state attorney general, the FBI, local district attorneys and lawmakers.
An insider close to Trump, who did not want to reveal his name, told NBC News that Trump is watching DeSantis with a measure of resentment and nervousness, though it would be difficult for Florida’s governor to defeat a former president with a support base so intense that it attacked Capitol Hill on January 6, following President Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential elections.
If Biden backs out of the race, said the insider, Trump—whose political motives seem to be encouraged by grudges as opposed to civic duty—would be less likely to run again. The scandals surrounding Trump may also be enough to keep him from announcing a run for the presidency. Behind him in the polls is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is planning a private fundraiser in Utah set for July 18 and is gathering the country’s wealthiest Republican donors. His team has released little to no information on the fundraising event in an effort to shield it from the public’s curious eyes.
DeSantis has drawn criticism from liberals and human rights activists, as well as overwhelming support from fellow Republicans for signing controversial Florida laws including the “Stop WOKE” act, which went into effect on Friday. The law restricts colleges, universities, and businesses from being able to discuss with students or employees the subject of discrimination based on race, sexual, orientation or gender.
The bill essentially bans the teaching of critical race theory in higher education (reminder: this is where American adults pay to be taught) or schools will lose their funding. Critical race theory is an academic concept dating back over 40 years ago which discusses the pervasiveness of racism in the legal system.
DeSantis also did little to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the state of Florida while openly criticizing the federal government for their vaccine and mask mandates despite the fact that COVID-19 vaccines have saved tens of millions of lives across the globe.
DeSantis also defended his decision to have Florida be the only state that did not pre-order vaccinations for children under 5 years old, though he quickly loosened his restrictions on that decision and began allowing health care providers to order COVID-19 vaccines from a federal program for children between six months and five years of age.
The 43-year-old governor of Florida also wrote into law the “Don’t Say Gay” bill which restricts teachers from having conversations about LGTQ issues and identities in the classroom. Representatives of the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association also accused school officials Monday of telling teachers to not wear rainbow articles of clothing and to remove pictures of their same-sex partners from their desks as well as to remove LGBTQ “safe space” stickers from their classroom doors.
DeSantis and his team have yet to declare his candidacy for president and have not given any hints that may do so to the press. But that’s not uncommon in the world of politics.
Politicians are very careful about announcing their presidential bids, and will use an entire political team to meticulously choose a time and place to launch them, says columnist Jules Witcover of The Baltimore Sun. They typically make the announcement in their home state, with unremarkable speeches that focus on the celebration of running for president rather than any core policies or big promises.
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