In spite of his periodic attempts to sound Trumpier-than-thou, Ron DeSantis looks like a dead man walking. The Florida Legislature doesn’t listen to him anymore, and he has nowhere to go after his term expires in 2026. If his wife runs against Trump’s chosen candidate for governor, that is likely to alienate the base even more. Things are looking pretty grim.
But Trump’s tariffs may have thrown him a lifeline. DeSantis has been very vocal about wokeness, but he hasn’t said much about protectionism. That gives him an opening if the tariffs prove to be unpopular; he can continue to beat the drum on wokeness while tying J.D. to the tariffs. It isn’t likely to work, given the doubts the base has about him, but it’s not nothing.