Political pundits and right-wing media personalities jockey for position ahead of looming Trump vs. DeSantis showdown

Amid reports that disgraced former President Donald Trump will announce Tuesday night that he is again running for the White House, media outlets are already earnestly promoting his potential rivalry with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL).

Much of the developing media narrative has centered on whether the Republican Party is prepared to break from Trump, as he seeks to maintain his hold over the GOP base in the wake of disappointing results for his endorsed candidates in the midterm elections. This question of Trump’s future as the leader of the GOP has seemingly come up before, such as after his failed coup d’etat, only for the party to continue supporting him.

Now, with the potential emergence of DeSantis following his nearly 20-point reelection victory, Trump faces a rival who would push all the same extremist policies, presenting a break not so much from “Trumpism” as just from Trump himself.

In a struggle to imagine that there is any further distinction between the two men, The Washington Post published an opinion piece from National Review writer Jim Geraghty, absurdly titled “DeSantis would pave the way for a post-Trump GOP return to normal.” The piece featured such contradictions as claiming DeSantis “fights for policies, not to prosecute vendettas,” then touting as an actual achievement that he went after Disney as a “woke corporation” for opposing the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law DeSantis pushed.

Geraghty further claimed DeSantis “has never claimed the 2020 presidential election was rigged or stolen,” though he further added that “it would have been preferable” if DeSantis had not campaigned with Trump-endorsed election denier candidates Doug Mastriano and Kari Lake, as he did. “By the low standards of today’s GOP, though, a Republican who ignored Trump’s 2020 bellyaching is a step in the right direction,” Geraghty concluded on this point. (In fact, DeSantis publicly called in 2020 for Republican-led state legislatures to throw out election results and appoint pro-Trump electors, which Geraghty ignored in this piece.)

For the stable of Republican commentators at CNN, Trump is now as politically vulnerable as ever and in danger of being eclipsed in the hearts of Republican base voters — likely by DeSantis.

Former Trump deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews: “I mean, Donald Trump, we saw in that one poll that Floridians don't want to see him run in 2024, but DeSantis is someone who potentially could be a formidable opponent for, you know, Joe Biden if he runs again in 2024.” [CNN, CNN This Morning, 11/9/22]
Former Trump campaign adviser David Urban: “It’s the elephant in the room. Ron DeSantis crushes in the state of Florida, builds an incredible coalition that can be — you know, if he can replicate it nationwide would be very formidable. So I think if you’re a Republican in America today and you're looking to have a Lincoln Day dinner and you’re looking for a speaker, it’s not going to be Donald Trump; you’re gonna want Ron DeSantis to come. And so my point is, you know, it's shifted to Tallahassee from Mar-a-Lago. Ron Desantis is ‘DeFuture,’ as the New York Post said so eloquently. [CNN, CNN This Morning, 11/10/22]
Conservative pollster Frank Luntz showed CNN a focus group of Republican voters describing DeSantis as “a more polished version of Trump” who “doesn’t degrade or say things that are just off-putting.” “They're over the language, they're over the meanness, they’re over the ugliness,” Luntz later said of people abandoning Trump. “More than anything else, I'll give you one word to close the segment — unity.” (Fact check: During his election night speech, DeSantis embraced culture-war language with his declaration that “Florida is where woke goes to die.”) [CNN, CNN This Morning, 11/14/22]
CNN commentator Alice Stewart: “Many are ready to turn the page on Donald Trump, whether it is Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, or any host of others that have expressed interest in running. A lot of people in the Republican Party say enough is enough of this losing and we need to find a new positive voice for the Republican Party.” [CNN, CNN Newsroom Live, 11/14/22]
CNN commentator Scott Jennings: “What we now have, though, is potentially Republican voters seeing the next lily pad, the next evolution, and going beyond Trump. Could that be Ron DeSantis of Florida? Perhaps. There will be other candidates in the mix. I think he's politically as weak as he's ever been, since January the 6th, anyway. The question is, will someone fill the gap here?” [CNN, CNN Newsroom, 11/14/22]

From the November 14, 2022, edition of CNN Newsroom

The Murdoch media empire has also run multiple pieces criticizing Trump, attempting to position DeSantis as a new winning prospect. Multiple Fox personalities and guests have also joined in the Trump-bashing while talking up DeSantis.

From the November 14, 2022, edition of Fox News’ Special Report with Bret Baier

Political pundits and right-wing media personalities jockey for position ahead of looming Trump vs. DeSantis showdown

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