Why DeSantis Will Blink
We've seen this movie before
Because so much of Trump-era punditry is wish-casting, there’s an understandable tendency to fixate on the looming clash between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis.
So I regret this spoiler alert: the clash of the MAGA titans is likely to fizzle in the familiar way.
To be sure, the tension between the two Florida egos seems quite real. Jonathan Swan reports that the former president is privately fuming over DeSantis’s refusal to tug the required forelock.
"In the context of the 2024 election, he usually gives DeSantis a pop in the nose in the middle of that type of conversation," said a source who recently spoke to Trump about DeSantis.
The source, who shared the private remarks on the condition of anonymity, has heard Trump criticize DeSantis on multiple occasions.
The source said Trump makes a point of saying he isn't worried about the Florida governor as a potential 2024 rival.
"He says DeSantis has no personal charisma and has a dull personality," the source added.
In the NYT, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Martin report that DeSantis is (so far) resisting the pressure to say “the magic words” — that he would defer to Trump in 2024.
So there will be some entertaining moments. There will be more strutting and performative dickishness. Cheap shots will be bandied back and forth.
But enjoy it now, while you can.
There’s Ann Coulter, emailing the NYT, “Trump is done. You guys should stop obsessing over him.”
And Roger Stone’s tweet-threat to DeSantis:
But we can guess how this show will end, because we’ve seen it in re-runs for years now. DeSantis is going to fold like a cocktail umbrella. Here’s why: