# DeSantis can't win the GOP nomination or the general election in 2024 {How Trump plays into this is allowed} **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 23, 2023, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249 "2023-02-23T18:07:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 29
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249/561 "2023-04-22T01:16:53Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > None of the others have any aspirations other than staying right where they are, there is no path from bootlicker to president for DeSantis. I think he has more pride than the others for sure. He would try to avoid Pencian boot-lavage while playing the role of VP and biding his time. Do I think that would happen? No, as I think that ticket would lose to Biden-Harris. But I think it’s plausible enough that DeSantis could be Trump’s VP. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249/562 "2023-04-22T01:18:03Z")
He’s crashing and burning. He’s playing too hard to please the far far far right whose hearts already belong to another. His radical abortion policies kill his support among women. His anti-trans obsession doesn’t sit well with people who want to love their neighbor no matter what they might wear or identify as. He’s possessed by the desire to punish Disney. It’s all culture issues for him, and on every single one he’s in the minority. Now his donors are questioning his sustainability. He could easily quit before next February. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249/563 "2023-04-22T01:24:09Z")
“Speak on, sweet lips that never told a lie!” ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249/564 "2023-04-22T01:40:34Z")
Yeah, I mean, he’s an idiot. I don’t think he’ll win either the nomination or the general (as prez or VP). ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249/565 "2023-04-22T05:56:04Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > …He could easily quit before next February. I agree with all the things you mentioned but I don’t know exactly what you mean in this sentence. Quit what? The office of Governor? Why would he do that? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249/566 "2023-04-22T07:10:20Z")
Florida is one of five states with a “resign-to-run” law. If a current state officeholder decides to pursue a campaign for a federal position, that person must commit to leave their state position whether they win or lose the higher election. > **[Resign-to-run law](https://ballotpedia.org/Resign-to-run_law)** > > Ballotpedia: The Encyclopedia of American Politics This is why DeSantis is on a “book tour” right now, running a pseudo-campaign without officially committing to the presidential run. Ultimately, he’s waiting for Florida’s legislature to help him out by either rescinding the law or carving out an exception for governor. > **[Florida leaders are considering a change to the 'resign to run' law to help...](https://news.wfsu.org/state-news/2022-12-02/florida-leaders-are-considering-a-change-to-the-resign-to-run-law-to-help-gov-ron-desantis)** > > New House and Senate leaders want to consider changes to a "resign to run" law to clear the path for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to run for president without giving up his post. Of course, given Florida’s term-limits laws, such an exception would just mean DeSantis gets to finish his current term, spending an extra couple years in the office instead of resigning mid-term (and then, assuming he hasn’t won the presidency, taking a four-year break and then coming back for another shot at the governorship). ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249/567 "2023-04-22T08:26:00Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Quit what? The office of Governor? I read it as “quit campaigning”, whether it is official or not. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249/568 "2023-04-22T10:50:22Z")
Assuming that Meatball Ron (which I still find very singable) is still in it at the end, can he deliver Florida, to either Trump as VP or himself? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249/569 "2023-04-22T13:11:52Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > So why is DeSantis running now? He isn’t. He hasn’t declared his candidacy, all of this is just feelers, and I wager he will have a press conference and announce that he will be “focused” on the issues Floridiana “care about” and support DJT. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249/570 "2023-04-22T13:45:01Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Assuming that Meatball Ron (which I still find very singable) is still in it at the end, can he deliver Florida, to either Trump as VP or himself? Florida is a red state, not even slightly purple at this point. Whoever the Republican nominee is will carry Florida, it doesn’t need delivering. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249/571 "2023-04-22T13:53:20Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > If he fails this time, even rather spectacularly, it would be a mistake to count him out for good unless the USA makes a very hard left turn real soon. Substitute “DeSantis.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya1GWB2AMnY ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249/572 "2023-04-22T14:34:28Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > I agree with all the things you mentioned but I don’t know exactly what you mean in this sentence. Quit what? The office of Governor? Why would he do that? The race for president. Sorry about the lack of clarity. He’s running a dumb campaign, unofficial as it may be. The best thing he can do about Donald’s legal troubles is keep his mouth shut. Instead, he defends his chief rival? Then on every single social issue he takes the hardest right stand conceivable. That far right lane is already taken, instead of running as a reasonable alternative he’s running as King of the Batshits. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249/573 "2023-04-22T15:00:15Z")
Desantis’ position is to portray to the MAGAs that as President of the United States of Batshitsia he _would_ deliver _actual laws_ to crush the undesirables and dissenters, as opposed to staging performances but mostly grifting for family profit. Hence the anti-LGBT laws and the War on Disney. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249/574 "2023-04-22T15:17:16Z")
DeSantis is stumbling badly, and I’m not convinced he can recover. What’s the national image of DeSantis? The guy who wore Dallas Cowboy cheerleader boots to a disaster zone, who picks fights and gets owned by Disney, and is banning books. He’s humorless, has a God complex (“God chose a fighter…”), and has a nasal, whiny voice. There’s no impressive economic or cultural change in Florida, but he sure wasn’t in the state when floods occurred. He’s a chocolate pudding finger-eating, rubber-spined weirdo. He can’t even level up to Trump (not even through him but through surrogates). Plus the field is filled with VP aspirants (Haley, Scott) and I can’t see any way that Trump would pair up with DeSantis. He’s going to bring along MTG or some sycophant of that ilk. I’m surprised that the Biden analysis overlook his incumbency and his steadiness. He’s always been gaffe prone, so his occasional flubs are not noteworthy. He’s sharp enough to catch the GOP out during his SOTU speech, and is incredibly charismatic in person. 2024 seems to be more about inspiring your base to turn out, and with Dobbs, RU486 and the war on abortion rights, totalitarian GOP rules (child marriage, book bans, Tennessee, Fox lies and lawsuits), I see Democrats much more motivated. These issues need to be constantly on the front burner, which is the concern I have. I don’t think that this has been mentioned, but there is no way that Biden is not the D nominee unless he decides he doesn’t want to be. And if he does, Kamala Harris is up next. The most reliable bloc in Democratic politics is Black women - and Biden is solid because of Kamala as VP and KBJ on the SCOTUS. If that is disrupted in any way, it will break that bond of trust - the machine style of politics that got Biden the win in South Carolina. No serious Democrat would even consider running against Biden/Harris. We know RFK Jr. is a Bannon plant. I’m thoroughly enjoying DeSantis’ incompetence outside of Florida. He’s thin-skinned, scared to talk to anyone but sycophantic media, and thoroughly unprepared for the big time. His best move is to hope that Trump gets the nom, gets squashed in the general, and hangs around so he can come back in 2028 - if he’s lucky, his cultural war and Disney fight might have been forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249/575 "2023-04-22T15:30:32Z")
Man, you said that perfectly! I agree with every word. Thanks for saying it with such eloquence. ETA: I would pick Kari Lake as the frontrunner for Trump’s VP slot. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249/576 "2023-04-22T18:06:05Z")
Thanks! Kari Lake is being so attached to loser status, it might be too far gone for her. MTG is back on committees and has some status in the house, even scoring a 60 Minutes interview that did nothing to win her any fans but did burnish her “gravitas” among the GOP base. Lee Zeldin and Jim Jordan strike me as the kinds of veeps that Trump would select. I think last time, he had Pence foisted upon him and he saw how that turned out… if he wins the primary he’s going to select the veep he wants. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249/577 "2023-04-22T18:08:56Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > MTG is back on committees and has some status in the house, even scoring a 60 Minutes interview that did nothing to win her any fans but did burnish her “gravitas” among the GOP base. And this is exactly why I think Trump won’t pick her. She’s useful in the position she’s in for Trump MAGA Republicans, as are Zeldin and Jordan. All are in Trump-safe districts. Kari Lake is… at loose ends, and won’t take anything away from Trump support in the legislature. That’s my reasoning, anyway. 🙂 ETA: And just to keep this on topic re DeSantis, I think he’d be the last person Trump would pick. DeSantis believes himself to be an alpha, just like Trump, and is too ambitious. It’d be like the relationship McCarthy has with Scalise. DeSantis is obviously willing to eat a lot of shit (with his fingers, even!) – but serving as Trump’s favorite whipping boy is probably a bridge too far. Even for DeSantis. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249/578 "2023-04-22T18:22:43Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > … Lee Zeldin and Jim Jordan … I had been admiring your avatar and thinking of that album and musical era. So when I got to this part of your post I read that as “Led Zeppelin and Jim Page”. Minds be weird an’ shit. Or at least mine be weird. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249/579 "2023-04-22T18:36:53Z")
Ok, that’s hilarious. Talk about Houses of the Un-Holy… ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249/580 "2023-04-22T21:46:25Z")
LOL! Also, great post up above. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249.md?page=28) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desantis-cant-win-the-gop-nomination-or-the-general-election-in-2024-how-trump-plays-into-this-is-allowed/980249.md?page=30)