DeSantis owns 'the most expensive and embarrassing' collapse in GOP history: ex-colleague

With the Iowa caucus beginning in just over two weeks and the New Hampshire primary hot on its heels, Gov. Ron DeSantis' once-promising bid to be the Republican Party's 2024 presidential bid seems to be already over.

As the HuffPost is reporting, the clamor for DeSantis to be the face of the party went nowhere as Donald Trump not only hung onto conservative voters but pulled away from the Florida governor despite DeSantis' political operation that proved to be ineffective — when it wasn't being plagued with infighting and layoffs.

Now, with well over $160 million spent and a DeSantis' ally admitting the campaign has entered a hospice phase ("make the patient comfortable"), a former Republican colleague of DeSantis from the U.S. House of Representatives didn't spare the Florida governor when assessing the wreckage left behind.

Noting how DeSantis started out on a high and went immediately into reverse, ex-Rep Dave Jolly (R-FL) quipped, "He started the primary on third base and stole second.”

ALSO READ: Jim Jordan and James Comer have a new judicial plan: Protect GOP megadonors at all costs

Adding further insult to injury, he pronounced, "We’ve now witnessed one of the most expensive and embarrassing collapses in Republican history.”

Fergus Cullen, a former New Hampshire Republican Party chair, pointed out, "He tried to ‘out-Trump’ Trump among Trump supporters instead of going for the ‘maybe Trump/move on from Trump’ voters, and it was a fatal strategic choice."

According to Mac Stipanovich, former chief of staff to ex-Gov. Bob Martinez (R-FL), the real problem with DeSantis is... DeSantis.

“The idea of ‘a’ DeSantis was appealing, but the reality of ‘the’ DeSantis was repellent,” he stated, before suggesting, “It is telling that his favorite president is Calvin Coolidge, the avatar of anti-charisma in politics.”

Steve Duprey, a former RNC member from pivotal New Hampshire, was even more blunt, telling HuffPost's S.V. Date: "When you come across as a mean person who shows little empathy for the real concerns of citizens, and who always wants to make sure everyone in every room knows you think you are the smartest person there, it doesn’t go over all that well.'

You can read more here.