On the campaign trail on Wednesday, Ron DeSantis pointed out that Donald Trump would be an instant lame duck if elected in 2024, constitutionally eligible to serve only four more years in office:
DeSantis alludes to Trump in his pitch for a president who can serve two terms: “You really need a very disciplined energetic presence willing to spit nails and fight the needed battles every single day for eight years…It really requires two terms to be able to finish the job.” pic.twitter.com/3ufer8rPfY
— Dylan Wells (@dylanewells) May 31, 2023
Trump shot back on Thursday, saying he can turn everything around in six months:
DeSantis has been telling crowds that Rs need a two-term president, because "even George Washington" couldn't fix what's wrong in one term.
Trump's response in Urbandale, IA today: "If it takes eight years to turn it around, you don't want him as president."
— David Weigel (@daveweigel) June 1, 2023
DeSantis’s retort: “Why didn’t he do it in his first four years?”
.@GovRonDeSantis responds to my question about former President Trump saying he’d fix the U.S. in six months after DeSantis previously said he’d need two terms to turn the country around.
DeSantis: “Why didn’t he do it in his first four years?” pic.twitter.com/7Tu39HFuCr
— Gabe Gutierrez (@gabegutierrez) June 1, 2023
It’s a good comeback.
One thing, for example, that Trump obviously couldn’t do in six months is ensure that the Supreme Court isn’t taken over by progressive judicial activists. Sometimes there are three Supreme Court vacancies in one presidential term; sometimes there are zero. To gamble on an instant lame duck like Trump would be to take a big chance on the control of the Supreme Court.