Remember the Ron DeSantis honeymoon? It’s what happens when you succeed the odious Rick Scott. You get the benefit of the doubt from a number of non-GOPsters impressed by someone who doesn’t deny science, pledges relief for the Everglades and lifts a ban on medical marijuana in smokable form.
That went up in smoke, as he has increasingly manifested his Tea Party and Freedom Caucus sides, remained a staunch Trump supporter and friend of Matt Gaetz, and continued as a Fox News green room regular. He gutted the felons’ restored right-to-vote measure, allowed some teachers to carry guns on campus and banned “sanctuary cities” in a state that didn’t have any. Then came the pandemic. Confusing public health messages, charges of vaccine favoritism and dismissive attitudes toward mask mandates and curfews were game changers in a life-and-death crucible.
In some ways Gov. Ron DeSantis is more loathsome that his cult leader, Donald Trump. He’s smarter than Trump. He earned his way into an Ivy League education. He’s from Dunedin—not Queens. He authored a book that wasn’t ghost-written. He wasn’t born on third base with a half-billion-dollar inheritance. He’s not unread—from books to briefs. And his leadership issues aren’t pathological, such as prevarication, attention deficit and narcissism. He’s calculated, not unhinged.
He’s deviously self-serving, panders to the usual suspects, ratchets up polarization and has helped to reintroduce “Flori-duh” back into the media cycle. He’s now arguably the most recognized Republican governor in the country—and lionized by Trump minions and acolytes for being one of them. He’s now a Republican presidential front-runner.
He’s not Donald Trump—but more detestable because he knows better.