Trump or DeSantis? David Solway
The Democrat roster is, by all accounts, dramatically uninspiring. Biden, who speaks in tongues, is plainly beyond redeeming; the question is whether he will manage to survive the year, let alone stumble, lollop, and whiffle to the end of his first term. Kamala Harris belongs in vaudeville or farce, given her talent for provoking laughter. Both will have to be retired in favor of an electable candidate. But who?
Pete Buttigieg is a perpetual embarrassment, in effect a political pothole. Elizabeth Warren is a professional liar and fraud, as everybody knows. Hillary is an overdone political brisket. Gavin Newsom has destroyed his state, an enviable record for a leftie, but California, despite the hype, is not America. Bernie Sanders is a geriatric commie with three tony residences, a typical dacha commissar whose appeal is mainly to the badly educated young. Michelle Obama would be a celebrity candidate; the thing is, most Americans are not celebrities, and Camelot has lost its luster. As they say, there is no there there.
The fact is that the Dems have nothing to offer apart from a voluble vacuum that cannot be filled with anyone or anything of substance. The party cannot be expected to win the forthcoming presidential election absent a Diabolus ex Machina descending from the ceiling via a system of invisible ropes and pulleys or an asteroid wiping out the Republican heartland. Regrettably, we know such things can happen.
Far more interesting is the controversy surrounding the Republican nomination for the highest office in the land. In contrast to the Democrats, there are a couple of excellent possible aspirants (among an otherwise somewhat undistinguished lot)—Tim Scott, Chris Sununu, Kristi Noem, John Hawley, Mike Pompeo—although the contest will obviously come down to the two star candidates, Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. And therein lies the problem.
DeSantis’ record as governor of Florida is not only stellar but conceivably unprecedented for wisdom, courage, moral fortitude, personal charm, and administrative effectiveness. He has made his state a beacon of hope and security for those fleeing broken and dysfunctional states under Democrat rule. Many believe he would be the best candidate to head the Republican ticket and would in fact be a shoo-in for the White House. My esteemed editor at The Pipeline, Michael Walsh, for example, has written several powerful columns advocating for DeSantis while casting doubts on Trump’s character and viability. And Walsh is far from alone.
But there is much to be said for Trump despite his critics. He may be or sound rough-hewn compared to DeSantis and would likely generate a certain amount of opposition among even party affiliates. Nonetheless, irrespective of his occasional naivety, his polemical outspokenness, and his polarizing personality, he was, on the whole, a first-rate president, and his “Make America Great Again” policies restored a post-Obama foundering nation to rising prosperity, energy independence, and its formerly pre-eminent position on the international stage. His list of achievements is a long one and remains to be completed. Tried, tested, and battle-scarred, he would be primed for the task.
Moreover, it has begun to seem increasingly likely that he may not have lost the 2020 presidential election, which was conducted under contestable auspices. As Dinesh D’Souza says at the end of his blockbuster documentary 2000 Mules, “Never before in history has a presidential election been as thoroughly corrupted by coordinated fraud across multiple states as we now know took place in 2020.” A rightful second term would allow Trump to pursue his governing agenda to the continued benefit of the country.
There is yet another issue that Trump’s detractors and DeSantis’ supporters do not seem to have considered. It is this: DeSantis is needed in Florida to assure that the enormous gains he has made are not squandered. DeSantis is now so identified with Florida and the success of his administration that his departure at this point in time could have, to put it mildly, untoward consequences for the state. Electoral vicissitudes are always a threat. We recall that the 2018 gubernatorial race was a squeaker.
Florida now provides a vision of the potential America of the future — we recall that it is the legendary home of the Fountain of Youth. DeSantis is the contemporary Ponce de Léon of a genuine political rejuvenation and a sign of what is possible in a grim political landscape. Florida cannot be sacrificed to the winds of political change. Trump, for his part, will surely carry the Electoral College — assuming, of course, the Republican Party acts to prevent the travesty of 2020, which Time disingenuously called “fortifying” the election process. There can be little doubt that Trump would win an honest election. He is still “the Donald.”
The ideal scenario is Trump for 2024 and DeSantis, who is only 43 years of age, for 2028. Florida would have been firmly consolidated under DeSantis’ governorship, and the U.S. under Trump will have recovered from the wreckage that Biden and the Democrats have made of American prosperity, military honor, domestic peace, sane legislation, and foreign standing. In short, Trump must run for president and DeSantis stay on as the nation’s premier governor for the intervening years, prior to a tenably triumphant 2028 presidential challenge and the possibility of a successful 2032.
A number of commentators have pointed to a modicum of friction between the two Republican stalwarts, but as a governing tandem, they are formidable. They each have their proper work to do in their respective domains to ensure a bright and productive future, and they are uniquely capable of accomplishing that goal. The prospect of a three-term patriot-Republican presidency is America’s golden chance to reverse the decline it is currently experiencing, and from which I suspect it might not recover otherwise.
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