Of Ron DeSantis’s trips to Japan, South Korea, Israel, and Britain, Dan writes:
I think the timing of his current foreign trip is a mistake. He should have waited to do this after formally announcing. The standard answer for why DeSantis hasn’t announced yet is that he needs to focus on the spring legislative session (including the need to get the legislature to repeal the state law that would require him to resign as governor if he announced as a candidate). He can more easily sustain that argument while making quick side trips to Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina than during an extended trip abroad, even one nominally billed as a Florida trade mission.
He would also be in a stronger rhetorical position, publicly and in private meetings with foreign dignitaries, if he is doing so as an open candidate, rather than having to constantly dodge questions with “I’m not a candidate.” It’s not a question he’s comfortable answering.
I don’t have particularly strong feelings on this either way. Dan’s often right, and he may be here, too. Nevertheless, I might offer up one possible reason as to why DeSantis did this before he announces (he’s going to announce!): He wants the footage.
DeSantis is a governor. The one weakness that governors who run for president tend to have is their lack of foreign-policy experience. Because he served in Iraq, DeSantis isn’t quite as weak on this as some others have been, but, in a GOP primary, he’ll be going up against Donald Trump, who was president for four years, Nikki Haley, who was the ambassador to the U.N., and others who have served at a higher level in federal politics than he did. By staging a trip overseas prior to his announcement, he can launch with recent images of himself both at home and abroad — which, in a small way, helps him draw a contrast right out of the gate.