'Fading star' DeSantis is showing no signs of turning his ailing campaign around: ex-Reagan speechwriter

23 October 2023

When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was reelected by 19 percent in 2022, a presidential run seemed inevitable. The MAGA Republican ran as a far-right culture warrior and enjoyed a landslide reelection during a midterms year that turned out to be much better for Democrats than predicted.

DeSantis, as expected, is seeking the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. But he has been way behind frontrunner Donald Trump in poll after poll.

In an article published by The Messenger on October 22, veteran GOP insider Douglas MacKinnon — who was a White House speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan and, after that, President George H.W. Bush — writes an obituary for DeSantis' presidential campaign. DeSantis' hardcore supporters are still hoping that he will be able to turn his campaign around, but MacKinnon argues that the Florida governor "seems to be a lousy campaigner."

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"Some might ask, 'How could that be?'" MacKinnon writes. "Indeed, DeSantis won reelection last November by almost 20 points. He quickly became the talk of the GOP. But a great campaigner? Evidently, it's just not so."

As MacKinnon sees it, DeSantis cannot overcome Trump's "cult of personality" in the 2024 election.

"I have long believed that 2024 was the wrong year for DeSantis to make a White House run," MacKinnon says. "It would have been much better for him to wait out Trump — who will be limited by the Constitution to one term if he wins — and seek the presidency in 2028. Now, the shine of DeSantis' star seems to be fading faster than those on Hollywood's Walk of Fame."

MacKinnon adds, "Not only is his star fading, but so is his platform. What does DeSantis believe in? What is his vision for the nation?"

The former Reagan/Bush Sr. speechwriter believes that ex-South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will soon overtake DeSantis as the primary's second-place candidate. An Emerson College poll released on October 20 found Trump with a 51 percent lead over DeSantis and Haley, who are tied for second place in that poll.

"When the primary is over," MacKinnon observes, "Haley very well may come in second to Trump. But even if she does, the big story of the GOP primary season will remain the implosion of the DeSantis campaign."

Read Douglas MacKinnon's full article for The Messenger at this link.

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