DeSantis is at his best when he’s belittling dishonest journalists trying to take him down. He will have to use that skill to his advantage.
Ron DeSantis had a major gift coming into the Republican presidential primary: GOP voters already know who he is and that he’s on their side. So it would be truly great if he never tried introducing himself to them between now and November 2024 ever again.
The Florida governor launched his campaign for president Wednesday with an online video, plus back-to-back interviews, first on a Twitter audio stream with Elon Musk and then on Fox News with former GOP Rep. Trey Gowdy. There were 30 minutes worth of technical glitches on Twitter, and DeSantis made no news on Fox. The people he was speaking with already agree with him on everything that matters. Whatever.
This is precisely what Republican voters don’t need from DeSantis, the most consequential Republican governor in the country, the man who made his name bypassing all conventional wisdom in Washington and delighting new fans outside his state along the way.
It’s exceedingly rare for a state-level, non-celebrity figure to secure a national profile with household name recognition well ahead of launching a presidential campaign.
