The Walls Are Closing in on Ron DeSantis

There was a time, less than four years ago, that Ron DeSantis looked as likely as anyone to be the next president of the United States.

At a time when Donald Trump had lost the 2020 election, had been indicted, and was down and out, DeSantis looked to many Republicans like a strong alternative.

The popular governor of Florida, who had won an easy reelection in 2022 and had laid out a coherent governing philosophy that the Republican base seemed in tune with, launched a presidential campaign for 2024 that showed early promise.

The Ron DeSantis Collapse?

However, DeSantis’ actual campaign was essentially a disaster from beginning to end.

It soon became clear that Trump maintained his popularity with the GOP base, and DeSantis couldn’t articulate a plausible case for himself.

Trump did not participate in any debates, which robbed DeSantis of the opportunity to confront him directly, while the campaign was plagued by frequent missteps, from a glitch-plagued Twitter Spaces launch in May 2023 to multiple incidents in which the campaign had to fire people due to histories of bigoted social media posts.

One staffer was fired after appearing to include a Nazi symbol in a campaign video.

Back to Florida

Ultimately, DeSantis won zero states and only a handful of delegates, and he dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses.

The Trump campaign did not use him as a prominent surrogate, nor did he receive a job in the second Trump Administration, after Trump won.

While his fellow Floridian Sen. Marco Rubio ended up as Secretary of State, despite a messy history with Trump that included once running against him for president, DeSantis was left out of the new administration.

He was rumored to be under consideration for Defense Secretary, had Pete Hegseth’s nomination not gone through, but Hegseth ended up confirmed, leading to DeSantis remaining in Florida to serve out the final two years as governor.

The Hope Scandal

As reported by Axios this week, DeSantis’ star has fallen significantly.

Not only is DeSantis not talked about much anymore as a future president, but he’s now facing a potential scandal related to Hope Florida, a charity run by his wife, Casey DeSantis.

“The charity received $10 million in secret settlement money from a Medicaid provider just days before the charity sent that same amount to two political groups favored by the DeSantises,” Axios said of the scandal.

Also, per the Axios story, DeSantis’ 2024 campaign, as well as his “vindictive and pugilistic style of politics,” has left the governor with many enemies in his home state, even within his own party.

“There was a time when every Republican in the nation wanted to have a beer with Ron DeSantis,” said one person quoted in the Axios story, given the hilarious description of “one Republican who still likes him.”

“The problem is that the governor didn’t act like he wanted to have a beer with them, and it showed.”

The story even quoted Rep. Matt Gaetz, the former Florida Congressman with his own history of scandal, as stating that “Ron DeSantis went from Rupert Murdoch and every Republican billionaire telling him he could be president to sniping at hecklers at a fish shack in Destin.”

What It Means For Ron

DeSantis has denied any wrongdoing concerning Hope Florida. But members of his party are now calling for a federal probe of the Hope affair, which raises the question of how a Trump-led Justice Department would handle a criminal investigation of someone who has been at odds with Trump in the past.

The controversy also complicates DeSantis’ succession plans, as Casey DeSantis has been mentioned as wanting to run for the governorship herself. Trump has endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) for the governorship in a state where that is likely to be meaningful.

At any rate, if DeSantis was considering taking another shot at the presidency, in the post-Trump environment of 2028, the Hope Florida controversy might nip that idea in the bud, as will Trump’s likely opposition to DeSantis succeeding him as the Republican standard bearer.

About the Author: Stephen Silver

Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.