Ron DeSantis Builds the Party, while Donald Trump Drains It

Politics is a team sport. When party leaders act for the good of the team, everyone benefits. I have written previously about the contrasting approaches of Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump to party-building. Recent moves by the two draw this into sharp relief: DeSantis has been hard at work sharing the wealth, putting his time and prestige in the service of helping other Republicans, while Trump continues to drain resources from the rest of the party in service of his own personal ambitions.

As Paul Steinhauser at Fox News reported on Friday, “DeSantis has helped haul in over $4.3 million in fundraising since the beginning of March for state and local GOP organizations from coast to coast. . . . Starting with a March 3 Harris County GOP Lincoln-Reagan Day dinner in Houston, Texas, DeSantis has headlined 10 Republican Party events in eight states. . . . Over 10,000 people have been in attendance at the gatherings where the governor gave keynote speeches.”

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Dan McLaughlin

Dan McLaughlin is a senior writer at National Review Online and a fellow at National Review Institute.

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Politics is a team sport. When party leaders act for the good of the team, everyone benefits. I have written previously about the contrasting approaches of Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump to party-building. Recent moves by the two draw this into sharp relief: DeSantis has been hard at work sharing the wealth, putting his time and prestige in the service of helping other Republicans, while Trump continues to drain resources from the rest of the party in service of his own personal ambitions.

As Paul Steinhauser at Fox News reported on Friday, “DeSantis has helped haul in over $4.3 million in fundraising since the beginning of March for state and local GOP organizations from coast to coast. . . . Starting with a March 3 Harris County GOP Lincoln-Reagan Day dinner in Houston, Texas, DeSantis has headlined 10 Republican Party events in eight states. . . . Over 10,000 people have been in attendance at the gatherings where the governor gave keynote speeches.”