At some point soon, Donald Trump is likely to announce that he is running for president of the United States. When he does, Governor DeSantis — who I presume is going to run as well — will have to make a choice as to how he deals with the barrage of flak that Trump’s entry will generate. My recommendation would be for DeSantis to ignore Trump completely until he is fully ready to engage.
That, of course, will not work once DeSantis is officially in the race. At that point, it will be a brawl whether DeSantis likes it or not. But before? It would be the smart move. There is no risk that DeSantis is going to disappear from the news, be forgotten about, or be totally overshadowed by Trump’s entrance. DeSantis just won Florida by 20 points. He won all but five of the state’s 67 counties, flipping Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Osceola, Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Duval. He won Hispanic voters. He won women. He won voters in every educational category, from “no college” to “postgraduate.” Going forward, he is going to be talked about whatever Trump does. Going forward, every GOP candidate and Republican association in America is going to want him to come speak. The demand will be there, irrespective.
And so will the attention. Florida’s state legislature, which meets for just two months every year, will convene this year in March and April. When it does, the scrutiny from the media will be intense. Presumably, DeSantis has some laws he’d like to see passed, and, presumably, some of these laws are going to upset the national media, which will dutifully come down to Florida and tee DeSantis up to tell them on TV why they are wrong and post the ensuing footage online. If he plays his cards right, DeSantis can be seen in public doing things that Republicans voters — and, usually, a majority of voters — like, while Trump sits around doing nothing but talk. It won’t always be easy for DeSantis to stay quiet, but, on balance, this juxtaposition will serve him well, especially if Trump starts going after him while he’s governing in a way of which the base approves.
And then? Well, then all hell is going to break loose. But there’s no need for DeSantis to immanentize it.