Why DeSantis Can’t Win in ’24

(Editor’s note: The following does not constitute an endorsement of any political party or candidate on the part of Newsmax.) 

America is facing some of its gravest challenges in history.

There’s a reason the vast majority of the public says we are on the wrong track.

That’s why it’s necessary a Republican is back in the White House in 2025. As Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., likes to say, “There is no substitute for victory. The winners get to make policy. The losers go home.”

Unfortunately for Gov. DeSantis, the Florida governor is just not electable in the general election.

DeSantis is out of step with voters on key issues.

President Trump has taken to reminding voters that, as a Congressman, DeSantis repeatedly voted to cut and privatize Social Security and Medicare.

Jonathan Chait correctly pointed out in his New York Magazine column last month, “those positions are absolutely toxic — 88 percent of the country opposes cutting either program.”

Indeed, even 84 percent of Republicans oppose DeSantis’s position.

In contrast, President Trump is opposed to efforts to cut Social Security and Medicare and has long advocated for protecting and strengthening both programs. Policy differences matter, and being on the wrong wide of 88 percent of the voting electorate on a major issue — as Ron is on this one — is a bad place to be politically.

Compounding issues for Ron, recent public polling has found that many of his “signature policies” are unpopular with the majority of Americans.

Rest assured, Social Security and Medicare will be the first of many policy differences that Ron’s opponent’s — on both sides of the political aisle — highlight.

DeSantis can’t afford to change his tune on Social Security and Medicare at this point

If he does, he will demonstrate to voters that he is a “flip-flopper” once again.

Indeed, flip-flopping is a trait of many blindly ambitious politicians of the sort that voters love to hate.

DeSantis has caught criticism in recent weeks from conservatives on both sides of the Ukraine war policy debate due to his phoniness on the issue.

Last month in the span of a week, DeSantis has held two different positions on the Ukraine conflict. First he downplayed the war as just a “territorial dispute” while saying that it’s not a “vital national interest” for the United States to help Ukraine.

Following a couple days of backlash, he changed his tune and started talking tough.

He described Vladimir Putin, as a war criminal, saying he needs to face the consequences for his actions.

DeSantis is a former Congressman, so he has a legislative record.

Turn the clock back to 2015 and you’d find Congressman DeSantis attacking the Obama administration for not sending lethal aid to Ukraine.

But, establishment warhawks like DeSantis haven’t been popular in American politics for some time now, and Florida’s 46th governor likely knows this.

His uncertainty as to which way the political winds blow causes him him to speak out of both sides of his mouth. His wishy-washy try-to-have-it-both-ways political posture is not unique to the Ukraine conflict.

When news broke of New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s plans to indict President Trump on questionable charges, Mr. DeSantis responded at first with silence.

He had to huddle with his consultant(s) to figure out what to say. When he finally addressed the case days later, DeSantis said he was too busy dealing with “real issues.”

Unfortunately for him, most Republicans believe Bragg’s crooked investigation is a “real issue.”

Marist polling found that 80 percent of Republicans think the probes are a “witch hunt.”

This was matched by polling conducted for MAGA (Make America Great Again) Inc. that found 83 percent of Republican primary voters think the probe is political and without merit.

Right now, is when Florida’s chief executive should be peaking.

DeSantis is on his presidential campaign disguised as a book tour.

He’s received nonstop friendly interviews.

What did DeSantis get in exchange for all this national exposure?

A collapse in polling.

Recent polls from Reuters and Yahoo News show a double-digit drop in support for him.

Support for Donald J. Trump has been surging among Republicans and he is the favorite to win in a general election. That’s what this Alvin Bragg indictment is all about.

John McLaughlin put it well during a recent Newsmax interview, “Among 1,000 likely voters nationwide, Trump is beating Biden 47percent to 43percent. This is all about stopping Donald Trump from winning the presidency again . . . . The only crime that Donald Trump has done is he leads Joe Biden in the polls.”

Americans have known President Trump for decades now.

They have a bond with him. He kept his promises and indeed made America great again.

By contrast, the more voters are exposed to Ron DeSantis the less they like him.

Being on the wrong side of key issues, flip-flopping, and trying to be all things to all people all the time is not a recipe for electoral success.

It seems that Ron DeSantis and his supporters might just be finding that out right now.

As Abraham Lincoln famously observed, during the famed Lincoln-Douglas Debate (Sept. 2, 1858): “You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” 

Karoline Leavitt is spokeswoman for Make America Great Again Inc., and is a Newsmax contributor, who appears on Newsmax TV.