On Monday, Governor Ron DeSantis addressed a crowd of hundreds at a beachside restaurant and warned that the United States faces an existential crisis if he is not elected president in 2024. But in only two nights, the once-rising Republican hero may face his hour of truth.
At the pre-GOP debate rally in Milwaukee this week, DeSantis warned his fans that their generation could be the first to pass on a less free and affluent country to the next.
The visit of the Republican governor was advertised as a “pre-debate party,” and in many ways it was like to that, with people drinking beer and eating food in the late summer heat.
DeSantis’s campaign has been faltering, and this rally was organised by his super PAC, Never Back Down, in Florida’s deep red Northwest. Now all eyes are on him to see if he can stand up to the spotlight of the first Republican debate.
The Florida governor, currently in second place in the Republican primary, will undoubtedly be the target of attacks meant for candidates other than Donald Trump. Due to Trump’s stated intention to forgo FOX’s broadcast of the debate in favour of his own prime time interview with Tucker Carlson, the Milwaukee debate stage may provide the setting for DeSantis’ much-needed campaign relaunch.
With Trump absent from the stage for two hours, DeSantis has a chance to boost his flagging poll numbers, but he must overcome a significant obstacle: winning over Republican primary voters without criticising Trump, who leads in every major poll. The firm managing the PAC that is effectively managing the DeSantis campaign prepared a leaked memo describing a preferred debate strategy, which recommended that the governor defend Trump. DeSantis later claimed ignorance of the strategy document’s contents.
According to the email, DeSantis should also go after political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy, who has been making gains in certain state races. Attacking the candidates who are trying to catch up to him could boost their popularity with those who are just starting to pay attention to the contest.
A lobbyist in Florida who backs DeSantis, Nick Iarossi, said in an interview, “It’s still clearly a two-man race, and that’s why Trump keeps attacking DeSantis, but on Wednesday night he has to demonstrate to everybody that he’s clearly the guy to take on Trump.” The plan is to bring together Republican opponents of Trump.
Iarossi, who is close to the DeSantis campaign but has denied coaching the governor on debate strategy, has stated that he believes the governor will refrain from attacking Trump and other Republicans in favour of focusing his ire on former President Joe Biden.
He’s going to be under a lot of pressure, and no matter how strong you are, that’s tough. But the upside is that he’ll get a lot of opportunities to talk,” Iarossi said.
DeSantis has emphasised in recent interviews that he is prepared to defend himself against attacks from lesser-known contenders who want to replace him as the Republican alternative to Trump. He spoke with Martha MacCallum of FOX News on Monday and blasted the former president for declining to participate in the debate.
Nothing, not even the Republican nomination, is guaranteed to anyone, DeSantis remarked. Nonetheless, he gave the impression he would continue with his plan to avoid talking about Trump by saying, “I’m going to make the case that under Joe Biden, this country is in decline.”
Simultaneously, his campaign sent out a fundraising email in which he slammed his opponents’ “baseless and phoney attacks” and blamed “the media, the DC political elite, and the Left” for not declaring him the victor.