Gov. Ron DeSantis R-FL) was supposed to be the best chance Republicans had of taking out former President Donald Trump.
Instead he ended up dropping out and endorsing Trump before the second Republican nominating contest.
In some ways, it was a rapid fall from grace. In others, it was a slow decline that took place over many months.
DeSantis and everyone else underestimated the hold Trump had on the party. This was accentuated by the indictments against Trump, which made many Republicans feel the establishment was trying to keep them from voting for the former president — who they already thought got a raw deal in 2020 — in the first place.
Attempts to keep Trump off the ballot in Colorado, Maine, and elsewhere only deepened this sentiment.
DeSantis at times minimized this as Trump running on “his issues.” But Trump was successful in making his problems the party’s. Rank-and-file Republicans saw the former president as a victim of a two-tiered justice system that could just as easily ensnare themselves.
Trump’s rivals, including DeSantis, could either be seen as siding against GOP voters or failing to draw a contrast with Trump at all.
Read more at Washingtonexaminer.com
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