Does Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stand a chance against Donald Trump?

FRANCE 24

24 May 2023 at 6:35 pm·1-min read

It was one of Washington’s worst-kept secrets and on Wednesday it finally became official: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has joined the field of Republican presidential candidates challenging Donald Trump for the 2024 nomination. But will DeSantis, who has cast himself as a more electable version of Trump, be able to convince the GOP?

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has all the elite credentials of a prototypical US presidential candidate, from graduating with honours from Yale and Harvard Law School to earning a bronze star for meritorious service in the military. And Trump – who announced his presidential bid back in November – is certainly sensing danger.

For months now, the former president has tried to pre-empt a potential DeSantis presidential bid by trying to undermine him with verbal assaults. Amid reports the Florida governor was only hours away from announcing his candidacy, Trump launched a new round of attacks on Wednesday, calling DeSantis "disloyal".

“He was, and is, a disciple of horrible RINO (Republican in name only) Paul Ryan, and others too many to mention,” Trump wrote.

“Also, he desperately needs a personality transplant and, to the best of my knowledge, they are not medically available yet. A disloyal person!”

To win the Republican race, however, DeSantis will have to walk a fine line, given that Trump still wields some influence as a kingmaker.