DeSantis is Still The Only Viable Trump Alternative
Gov. DeSantis' performance in his debate against Gov. Newsome demonstrates why he was the strongest contender against Donald Trump in the first place.
While many of my friends have declared their support for Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential primary, I remain convinced that Ron DeSantis is still the only viable Trump alternative. In my view, if DeSantis were to drop out before Haley, a large proportion of his supporters would shift to Trump. On the other hand, if Haley dropped out first, a large proportion of her supporters would shift to DeSantis.
DeSantis is the only candidate with the ability to pull a significant number of both pro-Trump and anti-Trump voters. On the other hand, Nikki Haley’s current momentum largely lies in the narrowness of her appeal. Republican voters who have been disenfranchised by the Trump era appreciate her more positive outlook and clearly articulated foreign policy positions. I, for one, appreciate her for that.
If this were a head-to-head race between Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, I would probably be rooting for Haley. However, the reality of this election cycle is that the field needs to quickly consolidate—preferably before or immediately after the South Carolina primary—and the field needs to consolidate around DeSantis.
My great fear right now is that, if it is possible to defeat Trump at all, Nikki Haley is standing in the way. On the other hand, after a general failure to gain momentum, I lost some faith in DeSantis as a candidate. However, 90 minutes of primetime television on Thursday night changed my mind.
The DeSantis-Newsom debate was a massive risk for the DeSantis campaign because Newsom had nothing to lose. Nevertheless, it was a gamble that paid off.
DeSantis had multiple show-stealing moments, which have notably been lacking in his primary debate performances. The move that stood out to me the most, however, occurred after Newsom accused DeSantis of “banning books.” The Florida governor promptly pulled out of his jacket a page of a “banned book” that depicted graphic cartoon pornography and firmly asserted that he stands for parental rights.
Moreover, the fundamental political visions of Newsom and DeSantis were contrasted by their definitions of the word “freedom.” The California governor argued that by signing pro-life legislation and protecting parental rights, DeSantis had restricted freedom.
This prompted DeSantis to provide a brilliant defense of ordered liberty as opposed to unfettered chaos, proclaiming, “You have the freedom to defecate in public in California. You have the freedom to pitch a tent on Sunset Boulevard. You have the freedom to create a homeless encampment under a freeway and even light it on fire. [...] Those are freedoms—they’re not the freedoms our founding fathers envisioned, but they have contributed to the destruction of the quality of life in California.”
Those 90 minutes reminded me why I trusted DeSantis in the first place: a record that even his harshest critics on the right have a hard time lambasting. Aside from a few awkward facial expressions, I have no complaints about his performance, and I hope this version of DeSantis sticks around.
Benjamin Rothove is an undergraduate at University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studies Economics. He is the Chairman of UW-Madison Students for DeSantis and Wisconsin Students for DeSantis. He is the Vice Chair of Young Leaders for Keep Nine. @BenjaminRothove
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So much rich content here I have to categorize my comments:
- Two or three person debates as opposed to dumb, 90 second sound bites dictated by too many on the stage
- I am huge believer in liberty but we also live in a society with public spaces, for example a protester can protest in a park, but not on a road (without permit) and not in my front yard.
- So many RDS mistakes. His online X launch, not doing hostile media (he later changed that and does great on CNN, and not going after Trump a little harder. And he is really good at long form answers which is why he does well here but not in soundbites.
BUT there is an issue not addressed here. In a perfect Republic Mitch Daniels would have been nominated and Liz Cheney would still be in Congress in place of Lauren Boebert. Unfortunately we are on planet Earth and RDS has a, well, a connection issue that Haley does not. Being the best for the job and GETTING the job are often two different things.