Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has yet to declare his candidature for president in 2024 publicly, has recently confessed to the Daily Beast that if asked to be Donald Trump’s running mate, he would decline. De Santis responded that he thinks of himself as “probably more of an executive man” in response to the query posed by Newsmax presenter Eric Bolling.
DeSantis’ determination to run as a cultural warrior and his ongoing book tour have fuelled widespread rumors that he would soon declare his candidature for the White House. According to polls, Trump and DeSantis are the two candidates that Republican primary voters are most likely to support for the 2024 nomination.
However, The book tour has encountered some difficulties. The first personnel dramatic change in the pre-presidential campaign is that the DeSantis roadshow lost a crucial player this week. People familiar with the matter told The Daily Beast that their operation’s chief event coordinator has recently quit.
This defeat is the most recent in a string of failures for DeSantis as his squad of followers, and outside donors execute a “soft-launch” campaign in the shadow of the party’s front-runner, former President Donald Trump. Yet, Republican observers claim that the operation “appears to have gotten out of hand based on what they have observed.”
A veteran GOP presidential campaign strategist told the Daily Beast, “This is an amateur lesson.”
According to two persons with knowledge of the arrangement about the brand-new DeSantis-aligned “dark money” entity “And to the Republic” (ATTR), which had been funding the multi-state promotional trip, cut relations with advance firm Liberty Event Specialists on Wednesday.
The sources informed the Daily Beast that Liberty, not ATTR, had backed out of the agreement.
The events firm, led by Republican operative John Hiller, a former advance adviser for both of Trump’s campaigns and a former supporter, broke the contract in part due to worries that the 501(c)(4) nonprofit would use them as a scapegoat for strategic errors made during the tour, according to the sources.
One of the sources claimed that Liberty “canceled the deal before the DeSantis orbit could try to build a false narrative,” and the second person backed that claim.
The first problem occurred earlier this month in Iowa, where DeSantis left Republican Governor Kim Reynolds waiting while he spoke from a podium while she waited for their one-on-one discussion next to an empty wingback chair.
The Iowa stop’s flashpoint was yet another podium-related setback. Before DeSantis’ speech, the podium had been taken away at some point, leaving him puzzled about where it had been. Reynolds had also yelled to someone backstage, “We want the podium back.” The incident, captured on camera, added fire to the ongoing online feud between supporters of DeSantis and MAGAworld.
The book tour has attracted loud and boisterous Trump supporters and continues despite many setbacks. Of all places, the trip has also come up in recent claims of unethical behavior from Trumpworld.
Whether official or not, the DeSantis show continues as the governor tries to position himself as the most likeable, sensible option for a third Trump campaign. But his defenses are starting to crack.
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