Suppose you were trying to design a candidate who would have no chance of beating Donald Trump. How would you do it?
First, you would make sure he had a grim, humorless, off-putting personality. Think Ted Cruz without the charisma, if such a thing is possible.
Second, you would tell him to emulate Cruz by attacking Trump from the right. This is a tried and true way to lose the election. If you really want to stack the deck, you could make sure the Cruz wannabe lane is already occupied by someone–say, a former Vice President.
Third, you would advise him to go after the voters that Trump already has locked up instead of the undecideds. Call it the Sisyphus approach to campaigning.
Fourth, you would make sure he got off to a really bad start in order to make a poor first impression with GOP voters who weren’t familiar with him.
Finally, you would tell him to pull his punches with Trump in order to keep the party united for the general election.
Step right up, Governor DeSantis!