The Iowa Caucus is just under two months away, and it still looks like former President Donald Trump has the Republican primary locked up. The efforts of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) arguably his closest rival, do not seem to be sticking.
Personally, I am fine with it.
I have written before of my worries about Trump being the wrong candidate because the left will do everything in its power to stop him from reaching the White House again. It will fight any Republican nominee like hell, of course, but Trump just inspires much better hatred among leftists, and his own behavior can turn off undecided voters.
This is not exactly an endorsement of Trump over DeSantis, nor is it a lament for the fact that DeSantis probably won't be the nominee. Rather, it is the acceptance that none of the other Republican candidates can compete. Trump is just too popular, and too many people on the right agree he is being unfairly targeted by the Democrats and the Deep State (which he is), making his reelection all the more important.
So the real question is, assuming Trump is actually able to win in 2024 (barring some horrible means of cheating or suspending elections entirely), will Ron DeSantis remain viable in 2028?
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His promoters say DeSantis sticks to conservative principles and always gets the job done (and I would know, living in Florida), which makes him a great successor to Trump for finishing the job of draining the swamp or rectifying any mistakes Trump makes in his second term. DeSantis being able to serve two terms back-to-back makes this argument all the stronger because the Swamp quickly reasserted itself once it put Biden back in the White House. Some will argue Trump did not do enough in his first term to fulfill that goal, but he at least made everybody aware of how deep the rot really goes.
Plus, DeSantis is young compared to Trump, meaning people will not worry about the age of the candidate come 2028 like they are now — a good reason for DeSantis to stay in the 2024 race although this selling point is not working out for him.
However, much like Trump himself, the online crowd aligned with him holds grudges. That would be the biggest problem for DeSantis in 2028. Not only will he have to contend with a hostile media that hates his guts, but also with dissent within a Republican Party still under Trump's sway. Trump and his own corral of online influencers will never forget that DeSantis had the temerity to challenge Trump in 2024 when the nomination was rightfully his, since he had been cheated out of a 2020 victory. (He was, but that is not the point).
Heck, Roger Stone recently called Casey DeSantis, Ron's wife, a "See You Next Tuesday." And let's not remind ourselves how Laura Loomer called Riley Gaines "a low IQ sellout bimbo" and a "f***ing b***h" who "deserved to get beat by a chick with a d*ck" for daring to do a paid speech on DeSantis's behalf.
Related: Riley Gaines Got Paid by DeSantis to Speak, Laura Loomer Says This is Somehow Bad
You may say that Trump warmed back up to Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and even put Dr. Ben Carson in charge of Housing and Urban Development despite comparing him to a pedophile in 2016, but this isn't 2016. Trump's putdowns and nicknames for candidates do not have that same zing anymore. There is no mirth in calling DeSantis "Rob DeSanctimonious" like there was in calling Cruz "Lyin' Ted" or Rubio "Little Marco," just a tired, worn-out anger.
Overall, the best way to wrap this up is by saying maybe Trump should just have the 2024 nomination now while he is still extremely popular and before his age becomes too much of a detriment like it is for Biden. At the same time, let's just hope DeSantis's 2024 campaign won't kill his chances in 2028, because he's the other best guy we have.
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