Everybody hates Ron
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Politico — which was at the vanguard of trying to make Ron DeSantis a thing in 2021 — sees the wind blowing in the other direction:
NEW 2024 POLLS — “Donald Trump Tops Ron DeSantis in Test of GOP Presidential Field, WSJ Poll Finds,” by WSJ’s Alex Leary: “DONALD TRUMP has gained command of the GOP presidential-nomination race over RON DeSANTIS. … Mr. DeSantis’s 14-point advantage in December has fallen to a 13-point deficit, and he now trails Mr. Trump 51% to 38% among likely Republican primary voters in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup.“ Read the full results
… “Poll: Biden 2024 splits Dems but most would back him in Nov.,” by AP’s Seung Min Kim and Emily Swanson: “Only about half of Democrats think President JOE BIDEN should run again in 2024, a new [AP-NORC] poll shows, but … 78% of them say they approve of the job he’s doing as president. And a total of 81% of Democrats say they would at least probably support Biden in a general election.”
DON’T SAY ‘HEY’ — This week, we’ve brought you stories about DeSantis’s off-putting social skills and lack of personal relationships with fellow Republican elected officials (including those from Florida).
Yesterday, we got a surprising email from a reader who had his own DeSantis story to share. We at Playbook get all types of scoops, tips and announcements but for obvious reasons, this one caught our eye.
“I sat right next to DeSantis for two years on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and he never said a single word to me,” it read. “I was new to Congress, and he didn’t introduce himself or even say hello.”
It was from former Rep. DAVID TROTT (R-Mich.). We called him up to talk about it.
“I go to my first [House Foreign Affairs Committee] hearing early, and DeSantis showed up right at the gavel time and didn’t say hello or introduce himself,” Trott said. “And then the next hearing, the same thing happened. I think the third time it happened, I thought, ‘Oh, this guy’s not ever going to say hello to me.’”
Eventually, Trott took the initiative and introduced himself to DeSantis. And he could see that the Florida congressman had a certain something.
“He’s got an ability to size up the electorate and figure out what issues and hot buttons he needs to press to advance his political ambitions,” Trott said. “There’s no question there’s a talent there. No taking that away from him.”
But equally apparent to Trott was what DeSantis was missing.
“If you’re going to go into politics, kind of a fundamental skill that you should have is likability. I don’t think [he] has that,” Trott said. “He never developed any relationships with other members that I know of. You’d never see him talking on the floor with other people or palling around. He’s just a very arrogant guy, very focused on Ron DeSantis.”
Given that, Trott isn’t surprised that so many members of the Florida delegation are opting to endorse Trump over their own governor.
“He wasn’t really liked when he was in Congress. And now it’s coming home to, you know, prove out as some of the Florida delegation endorsed Trump and and some of the donors, you know, think he’s kind of awkward in terms of how he interacts with them,” Trott said. “If his pre-presidential campaign was playing out differently, then I’d say, ‘Well, maybe he just didn’t like me.’ But I think there’s something more at work here.”
In short, said Trott, “I think he’s an asshole. I don’t think he cares about people.”
It’s the poll numbers here that are most important; what anecdotes are cherry-picked can always change. But DeSantis losing his status as a mainstream media darling is another reason to think he ain’t going to happen, making it more likely that the Trump Show will dominate earned media like it did in 2016. You wonder at this point if he’s even going to run.