2024 Republican Nominees

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Well he did so well in California.

[Anonymous]

Why is rd such a weirdo when he was a d1 baseball player?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is rd such a weirdo when he was a d1 baseball player?

Everyone hates Ron!

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2023/04/21/how-to-lose-friends-and-alienate-people-by-ron-desantis-00093235?cid=hptb_primary_0

DON’T SAY ‘HEY’ — This week, we’ve brought you stories about DeSantis’s off-putting social skills and lack of personal relationships with fellow Republican elected officials (including those from Florida).

Yesterday, we got a surprising email from a reader who had his own DeSantis story to share. We at Playbook get all types of scoops, tips and announcements but for obvious reasons, this one caught our eye.

“I sat right next to DeSantis for two years on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and he never said a single word to me,” it read. “I was new to Congress, and he didn’t introduce himself or even say hello.”

It was from former Rep. DAVID TROTT (R-Mich.). We called him up to talk about it.

“I go to my first [House Foreign Affairs Committee] hearing early, and DeSantis showed up right at the gavel time and didn’t say hello or introduce himself,” Trott said. “And then the next hearing, the same thing happened. I think the third time it happened, I thought, ‘Oh, this guy’s not ever going to say hello to me.’”

Eventually, Trott took the initiative and introduced himself to DeSantis. And he could see that the Florida congressman had a certain something.

“He’s got an ability to size up the electorate and figure out what issues and hot buttons he needs to press to advance his political ambitions,” Trott said. “There’s no question there’s a talent there. No taking that away from him.”

But equally apparent to Trott was what DeSantis was missing.

“If you’re going to go into politics, kind of a fundamental skill that you should have is likability. I don’t think [he] has that,” Trott said. “He never developed any relationships with other members that I know of. You’d never see him talking on the floor with other people or palling around. He’s just a very arrogant guy, very focused on Ron DeSantis.”

Given that, Trott isn’t surprised that so many members of the Florida delegation are opting to endorse Trump over their own governor.

“He wasn’t really liked when he was in Congress. And now it’s coming home to, you know, prove out as some of the Florida delegation endorsed Trump and and some of the donors, you know, think he’s kind of awkward in terms of how he interacts with them,” Trott said. “If his pre-presidential campaign was playing out differently, then I’d say, ‘Well, maybe he just didn’t like me.’ But I think there’s something more at work here.”

In short, said Trott, “I think he’s an a++. I don’t think he cares about people.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is rd such a weirdo when he was a d1 baseball player?

Everyone hates Ron!

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2023/04/21/how-to-lose-friends-and-alienate-people-by-ron-desantis-00093235?cid=hptb_primary_0

DON’T SAY ‘HEY’ — This week, we’ve brought you stories about DeSantis’s off-putting social skills and lack of personal relationships with fellow Republican elected officials (including those from Florida).

Yesterday, we got a surprising email from a reader who had his own DeSantis story to share. We at Playbook get all types of scoops, tips and announcements but for obvious reasons, this one caught our eye.

“I sat right next to DeSantis for two years on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and he never said a single word to me,” it read. “I was new to Congress, and he didn’t introduce himself or even say hello.”

It was from former Rep. DAVID TROTT (R-Mich.). We called him up to talk about it.

“I go to my first [House Foreign Affairs Committee] hearing early, and DeSantis showed up right at the gavel time and didn’t say hello or introduce himself,” Trott said. “And then the next hearing, the same thing happened. I think the third time it happened, I thought, ‘Oh, this guy’s not ever going to say hello to me.’”

Eventually, Trott took the initiative and introduced himself to DeSantis. And he could see that the Florida congressman had a certain something.

“He’s got an ability to size up the electorate and figure out what issues and hot buttons he needs to press to advance his political ambitions,” Trott said. “There’s no question there’s a talent there. No taking that away from him.”

But equally apparent to Trott was what DeSantis was missing.

“If you’re going to go into politics, kind of a fundamental skill that you should have is likability. I don’t think [he] has that,” Trott said. “He never developed any relationships with other members that I know of. You’d never see him talking on the floor with other people or palling around. He’s just a very arrogant guy, very focused on Ron DeSantis.”

Given that, Trott isn’t surprised that so many members of the Florida delegation are opting to endorse Trump over their own governor.

“He wasn’t really liked when he was in Congress. And now it’s coming home to, you know, prove out as some of the Florida delegation endorsed Trump and and some of the donors, you know, think he’s kind of awkward in terms of how he interacts with them,” Trott said. “If his pre-presidential campaign was playing out differently, then I’d say, ‘Well, maybe he just didn’t like me.’ But I think there’s something more at work here.”

In short, said Trott, “I think he’s an a++. I don’t think he cares about people.”

It’s not surprising that trott is from Michigan

I’ve worked for both Dems and Rs before in electoral politics in a swing state in the north and the many things I heard in 2015 about Rubio, you hear about desantis

Essentially what people don’t get is Florida republicans are personally very alien to big10 country

The aesthetics, the swarthiness for better or worse, the personality, ehst they talk about/how they talk etc

The fact of the matter is DJT is from queens — that translates better to the rustbelt than Cubans/Italians from Florida

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is rd such a weirdo when he was a d1 baseball player?

Everyone hates Ron!

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2023/04/21/how-to-lose-friends-and-alienate-people-by-ron-desantis-00093235?cid=hptb_primary_0

DON’T SAY ‘HEY’ — This week, we’ve brought you stories about DeSantis’s off-putting social skills and lack of personal relationships with fellow Republican elected officials (including those from Florida).

Yesterday, we got a surprising email from a reader who had his own DeSantis story to share. We at Playbook get all types of scoops, tips and announcements but for obvious reasons, this one caught our eye.

“I sat right next to DeSantis for two years on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and he never said a single word to me,” it read. “I was new to Congress, and he didn’t introduce himself or even say hello.”

It was from former Rep. DAVID TROTT (R-Mich.). We called him up to talk about it.

“I go to my first [House Foreign Affairs Committee] hearing early, and DeSantis showed up right at the gavel time and didn’t say hello or introduce himself,” Trott said. “And then the next hearing, the same thing happened. I think the third time it happened, I thought, ‘Oh, this guy’s not ever going to say hello to me.’”

Eventually, Trott took the initiative and introduced himself to DeSantis. And he could see that the Florida congressman had a certain something.

“He’s got an ability to size up the electorate and figure out what issues and hot buttons he needs to press to advance his political ambitions,” Trott said. “There’s no question there’s a talent there. No taking that away from him.”

But equally apparent to Trott was what DeSantis was missing.

“If you’re going to go into politics, kind of a fundamental skill that you should have is likability. I don’t think [he] has that,” Trott said. “He never developed any relationships with other members that I know of. You’d never see him talking on the floor with other people or palling around. He’s just a very arrogant guy, very focused on Ron DeSantis.”

Given that, Trott isn’t surprised that so many members of the Florida delegation are opting to endorse Trump over their own governor.

“He wasn’t really liked when he was in Congress. And now it’s coming home to, you know, prove out as some of the Florida delegation endorsed Trump and and some of the donors, you know, think he’s kind of awkward in terms of how he interacts with them,” Trott said. “If his pre-presidential campaign was playing out differently, then I’d say, ‘Well, maybe he just didn’t like me.’ But I think there’s something more at work here.”

In short, said Trott, “I think he’s an a++. I don’t think he cares about people.”

It’s not surprising that trott is from Michigan

I’ve worked for both Dems and Rs before in electoral politics in a swing state in the north and the many things I heard in 2015 about Rubio, you hear about desantis

Essentially what people don’t get is Florida republicans are personally very alien to big10 country

The aesthetics, the swarthiness for better or worse, the personality, ehst they talk about/how they talk etc

The fact of the matter is DJT is from queens — that translates better to the rustbelt than Cubans/Italians from Florida

I mean, even in Florida people know that relationships matter. That you need friends and allies. It's just Puddin Fingers Ron thinks he's too good for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is rd such a weirdo when he was a d1 baseball player?

Everyone hates Ron!

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2023/04/21/how-to-lose-friends-and-alienate-people-by-ron-desantis-00093235?cid=hptb_primary_0

DON’T SAY ‘HEY’ — This week, we’ve brought you stories about DeSantis’s off-putting social skills and lack of personal relationships with fellow Republican elected officials (including those from Florida).

Yesterday, we got a surprising email from a reader who had his own DeSantis story to share. We at Playbook get all types of scoops, tips and announcements but for obvious reasons, this one caught our eye.

“I sat right next to DeSantis for two years on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and he never said a single word to me,” it read. “I was new to Congress, and he didn’t introduce himself or even say hello.”

It was from former Rep. DAVID TROTT (R-Mich.). We called him up to talk about it.

“I go to my first [House Foreign Affairs Committee] hearing early, and DeSantis showed up right at the gavel time and didn’t say hello or introduce himself,” Trott said. “And then the next hearing, the same thing happened. I think the third time it happened, I thought, ‘Oh, this guy’s not ever going to say hello to me.’”

Eventually, Trott took the initiative and introduced himself to DeSantis. And he could see that the Florida congressman had a certain something.

“He’s got an ability to size up the electorate and figure out what issues and hot buttons he needs to press to advance his political ambitions,” Trott said. “There’s no question there’s a talent there. No taking that away from him.”

But equally apparent to Trott was what DeSantis was missing.

“If you’re going to go into politics, kind of a fundamental skill that you should have is likability. I don’t think [he] has that,” Trott said. “He never developed any relationships with other members that I know of. You’d never see him talking on the floor with other people or palling around. He’s just a very arrogant guy, very focused on Ron DeSantis.”

Given that, Trott isn’t surprised that so many members of the Florida delegation are opting to endorse Trump over their own governor.

“He wasn’t really liked when he was in Congress. And now it’s coming home to, you know, prove out as some of the Florida delegation endorsed Trump and and some of the donors, you know, think he’s kind of awkward in terms of how he interacts with them,” Trott said. “If his pre-presidential campaign was playing out differently, then I’d say, ‘Well, maybe he just didn’t like me.’ But I think there’s something more at work here.”

In short, said Trott, “I think he’s an a++. I don’t think he cares about people.”

It’s not surprising that trott is from Michigan

I’ve worked for both Dems and Rs before in electoral politics in a swing state in the north and the many things I heard in 2015 about Rubio, you hear about desantis

Essentially what people don’t get is Florida republicans are personally very alien to big10 country

The aesthetics, the swarthiness for better or worse, the personality, ehst they talk about/how they talk etc

The fact of the matter is DJT is from queens — that translates better to the rustbelt than Cubans/Italians from Florida

Florida consistently elects the weakest delegation of any large state. House and Senate, Republican and Democratic, Florida sends a lot of duds to DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is rd such a weirdo when he was a d1 baseball player?

Everyone hates Ron!

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2023/04/21/how-to-lose-friends-and-alienate-people-by-ron-desantis-00093235?cid=hptb_primary_0

DON’T SAY ‘HEY’ — This week, we’ve brought you stories about DeSantis’s off-putting social skills and lack of personal relationships with fellow Republican elected officials (including those from Florida).

Yesterday, we got a surprising email from a reader who had his own DeSantis story to share. We at Playbook get all types of scoops, tips and announcements but for obvious reasons, this one caught our eye.

“I sat right next to DeSantis for two years on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and he never said a single word to me,” it read. “I was new to Congress, and he didn’t introduce himself or even say hello.”

It was from former Rep. DAVID TROTT (R-Mich.). We called him up to talk about it.

“I go to my first [House Foreign Affairs Committee] hearing early, and DeSantis showed up right at the gavel time and didn’t say hello or introduce himself,” Trott said. “And then the next hearing, the same thing happened. I think the third time it happened, I thought, ‘Oh, this guy’s not ever going to say hello to me.’”

Eventually, Trott took the initiative and introduced himself to DeSantis. And he could see that the Florida congressman had a certain something.

“He’s got an ability to size up the electorate and figure out what issues and hot buttons he needs to press to advance his political ambitions,” Trott said. “There’s no question there’s a talent there. No taking that away from him.”

But equally apparent to Trott was what DeSantis was missing.

“If you’re going to go into politics, kind of a fundamental skill that you should have is likability. I don’t think [he] has that,” Trott said. “He never developed any relationships with other members that I know of. You’d never see him talking on the floor with other people or palling around. He’s just a very arrogant guy, very focused on Ron DeSantis.”

Given that, Trott isn’t surprised that so many members of the Florida delegation are opting to endorse Trump over their own governor.

“He wasn’t really liked when he was in Congress. And now it’s coming home to, you know, prove out as some of the Florida delegation endorsed Trump and and some of the donors, you know, think he’s kind of awkward in terms of how he interacts with them,” Trott said. “If his pre-presidential campaign was playing out differently, then I’d say, ‘Well, maybe he just didn’t like me.’ But I think there’s something more at work here.”

In short, said Trott, “I think he’s an a++. I don’t think he cares about people.”

It’s not surprising that trott is from Michigan

I’ve worked for both Dems and Rs before in electoral politics in a swing state in the north and the many things I heard in 2015 about Rubio, you hear about desantis

Essentially what people don’t get is Florida republicans are personally very alien to big10 country

The aesthetics, the swarthiness for better or worse, the personality, ehst they talk about/how they talk etc

The fact of the matter is DJT is from queens — that translates better to the rustbelt than Cubans/Italians from Florida

Florida consistently elects the weakest delegation of any large state. House and Senate, Republican and Democratic, Florida sends a lot of duds to DC.

And full of weirdos

It’s not just that Ron is puddin fingers or meatball,

Charlie crist would suffer from having to run nationally because he has that weird overly tanned leathery look to him

Ben Nelson

Andrew gillum

Debbie wasserman Schultz looks like a wet dog with a terrible voice

Rubio

Etc etc

It’s on both sides - r and d…Florida just doesn’t translate to the rest of the country

Texas is more relatable to people up north

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is rd such a weirdo when he was a d1 baseball player?

Everyone hates Ron!

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2023/04/21/how-to-lose-friends-and-alienate-people-by-ron-desantis-00093235?cid=hptb_primary_0

DON’T SAY ‘HEY’ — This week, we’ve brought you stories about DeSantis’s off-putting social skills and lack of personal relationships with fellow Republican elected officials (including those from Florida).

Yesterday, we got a surprising email from a reader who had his own DeSantis story to share. We at Playbook get all types of scoops, tips and announcements but for obvious reasons, this one caught our eye.

“I sat right next to DeSantis for two years on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and he never said a single word to me,” it read. “I was new to Congress, and he didn’t introduce himself or even say hello.”

It was from former Rep. DAVID TROTT (R-Mich.). We called him up to talk about it.

“I go to my first [House Foreign Affairs Committee] hearing early, and DeSantis showed up right at the gavel time and didn’t say hello or introduce himself,” Trott said. “And then the next hearing, the same thing happened. I think the third time it happened, I thought, ‘Oh, this guy’s not ever going to say hello to me.’”

Eventually, Trott took the initiative and introduced himself to DeSantis. And he could see that the Florida congressman had a certain something.

“He’s got an ability to size up the electorate and figure out what issues and hot buttons he needs to press to advance his political ambitions,” Trott said. “There’s no question there’s a talent there. No taking that away from him.”

But equally apparent to Trott was what DeSantis was missing.

“If you’re going to go into politics, kind of a fundamental skill that you should have is likability. I don’t think [he] has that,” Trott said. “He never developed any relationships with other members that I know of. You’d never see him talking on the floor with other people or palling around. He’s just a very arrogant guy, very focused on Ron DeSantis.”

Given that, Trott isn’t surprised that so many members of the Florida delegation are opting to endorse Trump over their own governor.

“He wasn’t really liked when he was in Congress. And now it’s coming home to, you know, prove out as some of the Florida delegation endorsed Trump and and some of the donors, you know, think he’s kind of awkward in terms of how he interacts with them,” Trott said. “If his pre-presidential campaign was playing out differently, then I’d say, ‘Well, maybe he just didn’t like me.’ But I think there’s something more at work here.”

In short, said Trott, “I think he’s an a++. I don’t think he cares about people.”

It’s not surprising that trott is from Michigan

I’ve worked for both Dems and Rs before in electoral politics in a swing state in the north and the many things I heard in 2015 about Rubio, you hear about desantis

Essentially what people don’t get is Florida republicans are personally very alien to big10 country

The aesthetics, the swarthiness for better or worse, the personality, ehst they talk about/how they talk etc

The fact of the matter is DJT is from queens — that translates better to the rustbelt than Cubans/Italians from Florida

Florida consistently elects the weakest delegation of any large state. House and Senate, Republican and Democratic, Florida sends a lot of duds to DC.

And full of weirdos

It’s not just that Ron is puddin fingers or meatball,

Charlie crist would suffer from having to run nationally because he has that weird overly tanned leathery look to him

Ben Nelson

Andrew gillum

Debbie wasserman Schultz looks like a wet dog with a terrible voice

Rubio

Etc etc

It’s on both sides - r and d…Florida just doesn’t translate to the rest of the country

Texas is more relatable to people up north

How did you forget Rick Scott?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is rd such a weirdo when he was a d1 baseball player?

Everyone hates Ron!

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2023/04/21/how-to-lose-friends-and-alienate-people-by-ron-desantis-00093235?cid=hptb_primary_0

DON’T SAY ‘HEY’ — This week, we’ve brought you stories about DeSantis’s off-putting social skills and lack of personal relationships with fellow Republican elected officials (including those from Florida).

Yesterday, we got a surprising email from a reader who had his own DeSantis story to share. We at Playbook get all types of scoops, tips and announcements but for obvious reasons, this one caught our eye.

“I sat right next to DeSantis for two years on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and he never said a single word to me,” it read. “I was new to Congress, and he didn’t introduce himself or even say hello.”

It was from former Rep. DAVID TROTT (R-Mich.). We called him up to talk about it.

“I go to my first [House Foreign Affairs Committee] hearing early, and DeSantis showed up right at the gavel time and didn’t say hello or introduce himself,” Trott said. “And then the next hearing, the same thing happened. I think the third time it happened, I thought, ‘Oh, this guy’s not ever going to say hello to me.’”

Eventually, Trott took the initiative and introduced himself to DeSantis. And he could see that the Florida congressman had a certain something.

“He’s got an ability to size up the electorate and figure out what issues and hot buttons he needs to press to advance his political ambitions,” Trott said. “There’s no question there’s a talent there. No taking that away from him.”

But equally apparent to Trott was what DeSantis was missing.

“If you’re going to go into politics, kind of a fundamental skill that you should have is likability. I don’t think [he] has that,” Trott said. “He never developed any relationships with other members that I know of. You’d never see him talking on the floor with other people or palling around. He’s just a very arrogant guy, very focused on Ron DeSantis.”

Given that, Trott isn’t surprised that so many members of the Florida delegation are opting to endorse Trump over their own governor.

“He wasn’t really liked when he was in Congress. And now it’s coming home to, you know, prove out as some of the Florida delegation endorsed Trump and and some of the donors, you know, think he’s kind of awkward in terms of how he interacts with them,” Trott said. “If his pre-presidential campaign was playing out differently, then I’d say, ‘Well, maybe he just didn’t like me.’ But I think there’s something more at work here.”

In short, said Trott, “I think he’s an a++. I don’t think he cares about people.”

It’s not surprising that trott is from Michigan

I’ve worked for both Dems and Rs before in electoral politics in a swing state in the north and the many things I heard in 2015 about Rubio, you hear about desantis

Essentially what people don’t get is Florida republicans are personally very alien to big10 country

The aesthetics, the swarthiness for better or worse, the personality, ehst they talk about/how they talk etc

The fact of the matter is DJT is from queens — that translates better to the rustbelt than Cubans/Italians from Florida

Florida consistently elects the weakest delegation of any large state. House and Senate, Republican and Democratic, Florida sends a lot of duds to DC.

And full of weirdos

It’s not just that Ron is puddin fingers or meatball,

Charlie crist would suffer from having to run nationally because he has that weird overly tanned leathery look to him

Ben Nelson

Andrew gillum

Debbie wasserman Schultz looks like a wet dog with a terrible voice

Rubio

Etc etc

It’s on both sides - r and d…Florida just doesn’t translate to the rest of the country

Texas is more relatable to people up north

How did you forget Rick Scott?

+1 seriously, how the biggest Medicare fraudster in history who looks like the batchild got elected statewide in Florida four times is such a mystery to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is rd such a weirdo when he was a d1 baseball player?

Everyone hates Ron!

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2023/04/21/how-to-lose-friends-and-alienate-people-by-ron-desantis-00093235?cid=hptb_primary_0

DON’T SAY ‘HEY’ — This week, we’ve brought you stories about DeSantis’s off-putting social skills and lack of personal relationships with fellow Republican elected officials (including those from Florida).

Yesterday, we got a surprising email from a reader who had his own DeSantis story to share. We at Playbook get all types of scoops, tips and announcements but for obvious reasons, this one caught our eye.

“I sat right next to DeSantis for two years on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and he never said a single word to me,” it read. “I was new to Congress, and he didn’t introduce himself or even say hello.”

It was from former Rep. DAVID TROTT (R-Mich.). We called him up to talk about it.

“I go to my first [House Foreign Affairs Committee] hearing early, and DeSantis showed up right at the gavel time and didn’t say hello or introduce himself,” Trott said. “And then the next hearing, the same thing happened. I think the third time it happened, I thought, ‘Oh, this guy’s not ever going to say hello to me.’”

Eventually, Trott took the initiative and introduced himself to DeSantis. And he could see that the Florida congressman had a certain something.

“He’s got an ability to size up the electorate and figure out what issues and hot buttons he needs to press to advance his political ambitions,” Trott said. “There’s no question there’s a talent there. No taking that away from him.”

But equally apparent to Trott was what DeSantis was missing.

“If you’re going to go into politics, kind of a fundamental skill that you should have is likability. I don’t think [he] has that,” Trott said. “He never developed any relationships with other members that I know of. You’d never see him talking on the floor with other people or palling around. He’s just a very arrogant guy, very focused on Ron DeSantis.”

Given that, Trott isn’t surprised that so many members of the Florida delegation are opting to endorse Trump over their own governor.

“He wasn’t really liked when he was in Congress. And now it’s coming home to, you know, prove out as some of the Florida delegation endorsed Trump and and some of the donors, you know, think he’s kind of awkward in terms of how he interacts with them,” Trott said. “If his pre-presidential campaign was playing out differently, then I’d say, ‘Well, maybe he just didn’t like me.’ But I think there’s something more at work here.”

In short, said Trott, “I think he’s an a++. I don’t think he cares about people.”

It’s not surprising that trott is from Michigan

I’ve worked for both Dems and Rs before in electoral politics in a swing state in the north and the many things I heard in 2015 about Rubio, you hear about desantis

Essentially what people don’t get is Florida republicans are personally very alien to big10 country

The aesthetics, the swarthiness for better or worse, the personality, ehst they talk about/how they talk etc

The fact of the matter is DJT is from queens — that translates better to the rustbelt than Cubans/Italians from Florida

Floridians seem much more Trumpy than the rust belt does lately.

Meanwhile, more bad news for RdS:

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

If Ron DeSantis promises a national abortion ban he will take the nomination from Trump. There’s plenty of time for him to make a move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

If Ron DeSantis promises a national abortion ban he will take the nomination from Trump. There’s plenty of time for him to make a move.

No. “There are several explanations for why this is happening, including the backlash to Trump’s indictment, DeSantis’s near total lack of charisma, and concern among Republican elites about the sweeping abortion ban he just signed. But there’s another dynamic at work here, and I think it’s the big one: Like Trump’s 2016 rivals, DeSantis is making the mistake of believing that the primary race is about issues, while Trump instinctively understands that it’s about dominance.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/21/opinion/desantis-trump-popularity.html