By March 2024, even Trump could see the handwriting on the wall. The math was remorseless. He was going to lose to DeSantis.
His rage was incandescent. It was bad enough to lose to “Sleepy Joe,” but DeSantis? The man was his creature! He made him a governor, and a celebrity! And now this? It was intolerable!
Since Trump had no allegiance to the “corrupt” Republican Party that had turned on him and rigged the election, he seriously considered running a third party campaign to split the right-wing vote and deny DeSantis the presidency. It was what the man deserved, after all. But Trump’s pragmatic side prevailed, for once; he knew he didn’t have the juice for another unsuccessful campaign, and DeSantis potentially had the power to give him something he wanted–a pardon.
Trump contacted DeSantis and used his leverage, as he had so many times in the past. While he would not appear on stage with DeSantis at the convention or campaign for him, he would agree not to run as a third party candidate or to support the Democrats in exchange for the promise of a future pardon. DeSantis quickly accepted the deal, thereby making his future presidency (if it happened) corrupt in the eyes of most of the public from Day 1.
Did Trump keep his promise not to diss DeSantis? Did the burn it down crowd hold its collective nose and vote for DeSantis in November? For the answers to those questions, read my predictions in 2024.