We have never been persuaded that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) could plausibly rehabilitate himself in MAGA world. Sure, he's willing to grovel any place and any time, with white boots or without. And Donald Trump certainly loves it when past opponents come crawling back on their knees. However, DeSantis committed the greatest sin of all, namely a direct challenge to the throne. That got Satan cast out of heaven, and it was sure to get his first cousin cast out of the Trump GOP.
There was much evidence in the past month that the Governor and the President are most certainly not simpatico again. Trump dangled the secretaryship of defense, when he had no intention of actually making the nomination. DeSantis could have used the open Senate seat to try to curry favor, and chose not to do so. Trading patronage is one of the most common and effective ways to cement political alliances, and Trump and DeSantis clearly are not doing so.
DeSantis' problem is that, in this conflict, he's bringing a knife to a gunfight. Trump not only holds the much more prominent and powerful political office, he also commands the loyalty of the base, while DeSantis does not. Trump also has a much broader media and social media network willing to amplify his point of view; Fox and "The Joe Rogan Experience" are rather more influential than Florida Daily. Yet another problem, from the Governor's perspective, is that Trump has much use for a high-profile scapegoat, to serve as a warning to any other officeholder who might dare to rebel. The Romans crucified Spartacus; Trump will crucify DeSantis.
Florida Republicans—the ones in the state legislature—have pretty clearly taken the lay of the land, and decided which side to take in this power struggle (Hint: Trump's side). One thing DeSantis and Trump share is a complete and total willingness to punish those who are disloyal. The Governor's favorite trick is to withhold pork from districts represented by his enemies. However, he's only going to be in office for a couple more years, and a couple more budget cycles, and the S.S. Trump would seem to offer a better ride, these days.
Consequently, DeSantis suffered quite the humiliation at the hands of his legislative colleagues. In his ongoing effort to apply gubernatorial lips to the presidential rear end, DeSantis called a special session of the Florida legislature, with an eye toward adopting anti-immigration legislation that the Governor wrote, and that is ostensibly meant to "help" enact Trump's anti-immigrant agenda.
This did not please the legislators, who don't like to be called into session for the benefit of political stunts. Remember, they're not full-timers, and when a special session is called, they have jobs and businesses and families that they have to leave behind with little to no warning. In addition, the legislators are not fools. They know what it looks like when DeSantis is trying to set things up in order to take a giant slice of the credit for Trump's efforts. They also know that Trump does not like people stealing his glory.
And so, the Republicans in the Florida legislature did several things once they were gaveled into special session on Monday. First, they rejected DeSantis' proposal. Then they gaveled out of session. Then, they decided to call their own special session, which was quickly gaveled in. Thereafter, they put forward their own anti-immigration legislation. In case there is any doubt about the message being sent by the Florida legislature, the name of the bill is the Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy Act. That is to say, it's the TRUMP Act.
The legislators haven't yet passed the TRUMP Act, but they are expected to do so. What they HAVE done is override DeSantis' veto of $57 million in funding for legislative support services. Undoubtedly, the legislators wanted that money back in the budget. But the override also sends a clear message: If you veto the TRUMP Act, get ready for us to embarrass you by overriding you again.
DeSantis is trying to spin this as a victory, asserting that the TRUMP Act contains several of his ideas. Nominally true, but only because there are only so many ways to strike out at immigrants. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 also contains some of DeSantis' ideas, too. Nope, despite his claims to the contrary, he just got poked in the eye, bigly, and everyone who follows Republican politics knows it.
More broadly, we remain absolutely convinced that DeSantis has no political future. An anti-Trump Republican like Liz Cheney, or a lukewarm-on-Trump Republican like Chris Sununu might plausibly mount a presidential run if somehow the GOP moves quickly into the post-MAGA era. It's not likely, at least not in the next decade, but it's not impossible. But DeSantis' brand is MAGA v2.0. There is absolutely no way to make that work if the God-Emperor of MAGA hates you. (Z)