DeSantis bowed to the inevitable and exited Republican race, a victim of his inability to act like a human
Ron DeSantis bowed to the inevitable on Sunday.
The Florida governor ended his flailing, failing presidential campaign, acknowledging that he had no path to the nomination. It marked the disappointing finish of an effort that once seemed so promising.
DeSantis was young, attractive and had an impressive record as governor — at least by Republican standards. He had raised a lot of money, but blew through it, too. But he was getting favorable press and seemed for a few months like a potential threat to former President Donald J. Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination.
There was only one problem: DeSantis (seen above in a public domain image posted on wikimedia commons) was a dud on the campaign trail. He came across as stiff, uncomfortable with voters and, in the term most commonly used, robotic.
I observed it in person in Le Mars, Iowa, on Oct. 9. DeSantis made a campaign stop at the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor & Visitors Center. It’s a popular stop for presidential hopefuls — former Vice President Mike Pence also made an appearance there.
DeSantis, who was a half hour late, drew a larger crowd than Pence, but I had a hard time finding many Republicans who supported him. They came to see him in person, since Iowa Republicans enjoy their special status thanks to the Iowa Caucuses.
In a 45-minute speech, DeSantis attacked Hamas, defended Israel, criticized President Joe Biden and listed his accomplishments as governor. The crowd applauded politely, but only got fired up late in the speech when he fed them political red meat on conservative social issues.
That got them applauding, but for those ideas, not for him.
When it was over, DeSantis barely interacted with anyone in the audience. He retreated to his bus, did a couple quick TV interviews and departed. Unlike Pence and other candidates, he didn’t take a moment to sample the famous ice cream.
It was not exactly a dazzling show, but it was a perfect example of why his campaign flopped. The product they were selling just wasn’t very appealing.
He returned to Le Mars just before the Jan. 15 caucuses, and this time he ate ice cream and interacted with voters. But by then, it was too late.
DeSantis came in a distant second to Trump in the caucuses, and in the next two contests, New Hampshire and South Carolina, he was well behind the former guy and Nikki Haley. The former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador is now the last hurdle before Trump clinches a rare third straight nomination.
Trump and DeSantis were once allies, expressing admiration for each other. Of course, once he jumped into the race, Trump, being the third-grader he is at heart, relentlessly mocked him and tagged him with childish nicknames.
DeSantis accepted reality and endorsed Trump on Sunday. He is looking to the future, and is well aware it’s the Trump Party for now.
Last year, DeSantis, 45, looked good on paper. He earned degrees from Yale and Harvard before joining the Navy in 2004. DeSantis rose to the rank of lieutenant — he pointed out during his speech he is the sole candidate who served in the military — and also was a legal advisor to Navy SEAL Team One. He served eight months in Iraq in 2007-08.
After three terms in Congress, he was elected Florida’s governor in 2018 and defeated former Gov. Charlie Crist for a second term in 2022. The Navy veteran sailed into the 2024 race with a head of steam but quickly ran out of fuel.
He may resurface down the road once the GOP finally ends its fixation with Trump.
But in this first turn on the national stage, he flopped. We may see him again, but if so, he needs to sharpen his skills and take some people lessons. No one wants to see his robot impression again.
DeSantis couldn’t even depart from the race without a stumble. In a tweet — or should that be an “X-clamation?” — he used a quote often, but erroneously, attributed to legendary British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts,” DeSantis said.
Courage, yes, even with a bungled quote.
But humanity and the ability to relate to people are also needed, and DeSantis failed badly at both. It’s happened before to candidates who seemed on paper to have a shot at the White House — Robert Taft, Nelson Rockefeller, George Romney, Ed Muskie, Gary Hart and others — and now we can add Ron DeSantis to that sorry list.
Tom Lawrence has written for several newspapers and websites in South Dakota and other states and contributed to The New York Times, NPR, The Telegraph, The Daily Beast and other media outlets.
