Ron DeSantis might be relishing his moment.
Many of the Florida governor’s donors and allies are concerned that his recent stumbles suggest he may be unprepared for a brutal fight against Donald Trump. Some believe DeSantis needs to accelerate his timeline to run for the GOP presidential nomination and begin directly confronting Trump if he has any chance of thwarting the former president’s momentum. Do it. Others believe DeSantis should bypass Trump altogether and wait until 2028 to run.
At a Sunday luncheon following the annual Red Cross Ball in Palm Beach, Florida, a group of 16 prominent Republicans, described by one attendee as a mix of DeSantis backers and Trump “skeptics” about the governor’s standing for the future Discuss misunderstandings. quarrel with the former president
“They liked him — many of them might even support him,” the person who was at the event said of DeSantis. “But he thought on balance that his long-term future was better off without trying to take on Trump’s head.”
“He would be intimidated” by Trump, the person said.
Then there is conservative billionaire shipping goods magnate Richard Uhlein and his wife, Elizabeth, whose combined $500,000 in contributions ranked them among the most generous donors to DeSantis’ 2022 re-election campaign.
A person familiar with the strategy around Uhlin’s spending said that right now, “the brakes have been pumped,” adding that “the polling really gave individual people pause.”
A spokesman for the Uhlins declined to comment.
Along with a growing sense among GOP operatives, as well as fears of some of his supporters, that Trump may be impossible to defeat – even with a possible impeachment against him – DeSantis is presented with the puzzle of trying to that he is a viable presidential candidate. before it begins its anticipated campaign.
NBC News spoke with more than 20 GOP strategists, politicians, and donors about whether DeSantis can bounce back from adversity — some of it self-inflicted, some of it the result of relentless pressure from Trump — or destined to dissolve under the white-hot lights of a campaign for the highest office in the land.
For a governor who prides himself on taking bold stands and winning in electoral battleground states, DeSantis has yet to show the strength that would lead some Republicans to believe he can compete with Trump.
A spokesman for DeSantis did not respond to a request for comment for this article.
Once surging, DeSantis remains well below Trump in polls measuring the potential GOP primary field. He was slow to respond to Trump’s potential impeachment — and then sidelined the former president once more. DeSantis was also forced to clarify his position on US support for Ukraine this week after his Republican establishment.
“It is 100% possible that we have already seen him peak,” said a veteran Republican campaign operative who regularly talks to donors. The person said he believed DeSantis may be fine, but the governor’s response to the impeachment question was “really telling how far along he and his team are”.
A GOP strategist who has spoken directly with donors in Palm Beach said it’s a week that should be good for DeSantis, as his main rival for the nomination could be impeached any day now. And the fact that it’s been so difficult for the governor has put off some donors.
“DeSantis is doing a book tour. He’s taking the country by storm, and his polls are going down,” the strategist said. “Meanwhile, Trump’s potentially under impeachment, and Trump’s going up.. It’s not a good look for DeSantis.”
The person said donors who have donated to DeSantis over the past year or two are still poised to support him for president, but they are also looking at other potential candidates, such as Sen. Tim Scott, R-SC. Starting to take a look. as DeSantis “fumbled” big moments.
The polling dip and subsequent outcry from some allies are the first measurable dents to DeSantis’ enthusiasm as a viable alternative to Trump. They follow weeks of attacks by the former president, from fueling unfounded rumors about the governor’s personal life to criticizing his past votes in Congress. DeSantis’ responses have been largely restrained, with mild criticisms often laced with his disclaimer that he does not seek to attack fellow Republicans.
Dan Eberhart, a GOP donor who supports the governor, told NBC News this week that he doesn’t think DeSantis can continue to tiptoe around Trump.
“DeSantis shouldn’t ignore him much longer,” he said.
Of course, there are donors who are excited by DeSantis’ early performance and his chances of winning the presidency.
Gregory Cook, the founder of the multilevel essential oils marketing company doTerra, said in an email that DeSantis’ pre-campaign phase has been “very encouraging!” and that Florida’s governor “demonstrates the leadership we need at this time.”
He said he had no need to accommodate DeSantis.
Cook said, “Although he has not announced a presidential run if he does, Governor DeSantis is the clear frontrunner in my opinion.”
DeSantis aides have said he does not plan to announce a possible candidacy until at least June after Florida’s legislative session ends. Sitting a clear second behind Trump in most national polls, DeSantis may see waiting as a way to help freeze the field of other candidates who are waiting to make their own decisions.
“The pending candidacy of Ron DeSantis is completely freaking people out,” said one Republican strategist who requested anonymity like others who speak openly about presidential contenders. If DeSantis comes in and shows himself to be a strong candidate, “he probably holds.”
“And if that’s not successful — and that’s a somewhat arbitrary assessment; what is successful — then you can see other people continue to watch it or eventually join the race,” this person added.
Yet advisers to several potential candidates said DeSantis’ recent struggles have not affected their thinking about the race.
An advisor to such a candidate said, “There’s a lot of eagerness online to say that DeSantis is falling apart, and I don’t think Republican voters are.”
But, he said, there was one “big takeaway” from DeSantis last week.
“We were always convinced that DeSantis was going to be very disciplined. Disciplined, disciplined, disciplined,” this person said. “And he proved this week that he is not. This was a guy Trump didn’t talk about, and here he is taking shots almost a year before Republicans actually started voting.
At a news conference on Monday, DeSantis denounced Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg as a pawn of liberal billionaire George Soros, but then used the opportunity to take shots at Trump, repeating the allegations against the former president: “I don’t know. whether it goes into secretly paying a porn star to keep quiet about some sort of alleged affair. I just, I can’t talk to that.
Then, in an interview published Wednesday, DeSantis told British journalist Piers Morgan that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “war criminal” who “should be held accountable” for his invasion of Ukraine. This was a notably different response from what he said in a March 13 statement to Fox News host Tucker Carlson, when he said it was not in America’s “vital national interest” to defend Ukraine in a “regional dispute”. Is.
And during Thursday’s appearance on Newsmax, DeSantis was again critical of US policy toward Ukraine and questioned providing US weapons to that country.
Republicans are deeply divided over continued US aid to Ukraine, and DeSantis received a fair amount of criticism from members of the GOP — including other potential 2024 rivals — for his initial response. It seemed like this was an attempt to get closer to Trump’s own stance on Ukraine, especially given DeSantis’ more aggressive stance on the matter when he served in Congress.
A Republican and an NBC News contributor, former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory said that DeSantis’ waffle on Ukraine surprised him “because, on everything else, he comes out with such strong statements and beliefs.”
He added, “DeSantis has to be careful not to walk the line on issues.” “He comes out strong on so many issues, if he starts playing the political game of trying to have it both ways, I think he will lose his credibility,” she said. … I think a lot of the Republican presidential candidates are still trying to have it both ways, and you can’t do that with Trump.
Trump has led DeSantis in nearly every prestigious national poll since the start of Joe Biden’s presidency in 2021, but a flurry of large spreads earlier this month has left GOP insiders asking whether any Could deny Trump a third consecutive nomination.
“There’s always going to be panic, especially with the polling numbers the way they are,” said a longtime Republican operative, adding that he hasn’t seen donors fleeing DeSantis. “I think they’ve done a good job of keeping them at bay.”
David Koechell, an Iowa-based Republican operative who served as chief strategist in former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s ill-fated 2016 presidential campaign, cautioned that it was too early to call a winner based on national polling, which was previously based on state polls. Nomination is out of competition. , He named several transient GOP front-runners from previous cycles to underline his argument.
“The only election that ever matters is state by state, and even then we get very close to the real contests,” he said. “Presidents Scott Walker, Ben Carson, and Newt Gingrich may have additional thoughts about early national polls.”
Meanwhile, even Trump’s allies expected more from DeSantis. A Republican operative supporting Trump said DeSantis missed an opportunity to show power over Trump after the former president said over the weekend that he expected to be indicted on the charges in New York in the coming days.
“What DeSantis should have done is respond immediately and say, ‘The free state of Florida will not under any circumstances allow this political prosecution to happen,'” said the operative, who told Trump, a Florida resident, in New York. Considering the logistics of bringing it to the muscle. “What would have done is project DeSantis as the alpha and Trump as the beta. He could dress himself up to look like Trump’s guard, which would drive Trump insane.