In the video announcing his candidacy in May 2023, Ron DeSantis exuded confidence as he crossed a stage draped in flags to applause and assured his supporters of “the Great American Comeback.”
After seven months, the man dubbed “Trump 2.0” and “Trump without the baggage” has withdrawn from the race for the presidency, admitting that there isn’t a “clear path to victory” against the overwhelming favorite to win the Republican nomination.
Where did the Florida governor go wrong, then, given his formidable record in office and his opposition to “woke ideology,” which made him a political celebrity in the eyes of many conservatives?
Both the campaign he ran and the candidate himself had flaws, with the former being perceived as lacking charm and the latter as uncomfortable around voters.
Experts viewed the campaign as nearly unachievable for a relatively unknown political newcomer to the national scene. In essence, Mr. DeSantis was competing against an incumbent, one with a loyal support base of voters, unrestricted funding, and name recognition.
Republican strategist Matthew Bartlett, based in New Hampshire, stated that Mr. DeSantis was unable to contend with a leader who had such resolute backing from his supporters.
For the better part of ten years, Mr. Bartlett stated, “He [Trump] has been their political identity, and maybe even their personal identity.”
It didn’t feel quite like that a year ago, when the protracted race for the White House was already under way.
Beginning in 2023, Mr. DeSantis posed a serious threat to Donald Trump. At that time, when only the former president had declared his candidacy, Mr. DeSantis was polling at about 35%, which put him in close proximity to his opponent.
He was also riding high following his historic win in November of the previous year for reelection as governor of Florida. On the other hand, a lot of people held Mr. Trump accountable for the Republicans’ underwhelming midterm performance.
However, that ended up being the pinnacle of the DeSantis campaign.
When the governor formally declared his candidacy for president in May, during an interview with Elon Musk marred by
Analysts claim that by delaying the official launch, valuable months were lost. More significantly, it provided Mr. Trump with an opportunity to salvage his reputation as a political outsider by leveraging the national news coverage of his numerous legal troubles.
Longtime Iowa Republican strategist David Kochel told the BBC that “[The DeSantis campaign] started pretty late, [and] raised a ton of money obviously.” However, Trump was already hitting him hard at that point. I’m not sure if their answers were successful. I believe it took them some time to interat.
Since entering the political race in 2015, Mr. Trump has destroyed every Republican opponent he has faced, even those who have more experience on the national scene than Mr. DeSantis.
Running for president is a very different experience from managing Florida. Mr. DeSantis’s shortcomings as a candidate were made clear, particularly in comparison to Mr. Trump’s oversized persona.
When DeSantis was first introduced, the BBC was told by Mary Civiello, an executive communications coach and body language expert, “that when you watch him mosey around a room, it looks like he has to do this to take center stage.” It appears that this is not a common occurrence as well. As one might anticipate, you could also sense that he’s a little anxious about it.”
In Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states to vote, where retail politics is so crucial, that awkwardness was a particular issue.
Mr. DeSantis’s robotic demeanor is not appealing to voters, according to Dartmouth College government professor Sean Westwood. “He barely managed to win over [Nikki] Haley in a world where almost all of his attention was focused on Iowa.”
It appeared as though the DeSantis campaign had bought itself a little more time when it defeated Ms. Haley for second place in Iowa on January 15.
Chanting “Ron!” and waving banners, the supporters at the West Des Moines caucus night watch party appeared to be genuinely happy with the outcome. They were confident that he was in a strong position going forward in several interviews.
“Jeff Schremer, a college student, says he’s the obvious alternative to President Trump.” “Electors can unite behind him as they head into South Carolina and New Hampshire.”
Ultimately, supporters of Ron DeSantis in neither state will have the opportunity to support him. The governor of Florida is leaving before he jeopardizes his reputation among Trump supporters by putting an end to his campaign and supporting Mr. Trump prior to those primaries.
Even at 45 years old, though, he is aware that there is still more to come.
When Jack Figge, one of his supporters, spoke to the BBC following that disappointing outcome back in Iowa, he was also thinking ahead. “While it’s important to see who will lead us this year, I’m far more interested in 2028,” he remarked. “My man is DeSantis.”
