Ron DeSantis doesn’t have a problem with Trump being an authoritarian. No, his issue with Trump is that the man was an inept, easily distracted authoritarian–a man on golf cart, not a man on horseback.
That’s certainly comforting to those of us who value liberal democracy.
Trump 1.0 was, in fact, a man on golf cart, as I pointed out on many occasions. 2.0 is angrier and more familiar with the workings of government; he will also have a cadre of dedicated reactionary functionaries to help him destroy the system this time around. Given his innumerable personal shortcomings, he will never be a perfect authoritarian, but he is much more likely to be a man on horseback the second time around.