With a substantial lead in the polls, much higher name recognition, plenty of money, and a national organization already in place, Trump will go into the primaries as the favorite. He probably shouldn’t be. His weaknesses exceed his strengths, and his beloved base represents a minority of Republicans, to say nothing of the electorate as a whole.
Trump’s best chance is to take whatever action is necessary to keep the base in line, while hoping that DeSantis has competition in the establishment lane, as in 2016. To that end, here’s what I would advise him to do:
- WIN THE RACE TO THE BOTTOM: No one, and I mean no one, in American politics can plumb the depths of indecency like Trump. If he persuades DeSantis to follow him, he will win the race and keep the base on his side.
- RON THE RINO: Accuse DeSantis of being disloyal and equivocal about January 6. Don’t let up until he gives a firm response about the “rigged” 2020 election. Anything he says on the subject will damage him with some part of the GOP electorate.
- DESANTIS IS WEAK: Trump has made a living portraying his opponents as wimps. DeSantis will give him plenty of ammunition. Talk about fossil fuels, guns, and the border as often as possible. DeSantis will be trying to bridge the gap on these issues; Trump can make him look bad with the base, which brooks no compromise.
- TRY TO MAKE UP WITH THE MURDOCHS: Completely losing Fox News would be a disaster. Do whatever it takes to at least keep the Murdochs neutral.
- THE TRUMP VACCINE: DeSantis was actually more irresponsible than Trump on covid. Go after him, not for his battle on mandates, but for his position on the “Trump” vaccine, which continues to cost some Floridians their lives to this day.
How does DeSantis beat Trump? I will give him my recommendations in a future post.