The political strategy of divide and conquer has been around for as long as one group of humanity has sought to attain and hold power over another and it is a key component of the Democratic Party’s playbook as it seeks to prevent Republicans from retaking the White House in 2024, specifically as it relates to former President Donald J. Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
With the two men having emerged as the frontrunners to take on President Joe Biden in two years, Democrats and their operatives are seeking to fan the flames of discontent, especially after Trump took several shots at the enormously popular and much younger DeSantis who is an appealing figure to members of the GOP who want to turn the page and pass the torch to a new generation of leadership.
The savvy DeSantis isn’t taking the bait and when pressed by a reporter at a Wednesday press conference about the GOP’s “civil war,” the Sunshine State Republican coolly rejected the idea, instead insisting that the party remain focused on the upcoming Georgia Senate runoff between former NFL star Herschel Walker and abortion-loving racist radical preacher Raphael Warnock.
While speaking in Lee County along with officials including Florida Senate President-Designate Kathleen Passidomo to provide updates on Hurricane Ian relief in a county that was devastated by the 155-mph monster storm when it slammed into the southwest Gulf Coast, the reporter tried to stir the pot by going off-topic.
“Governor, do you hear there may be a civil war brewing in the GOP, people having to choose between you and Donald Trump?” the reporter asked during the presser in Matlacha, Florida.
“We just finished this election, OK? People just need to chill out a little bit on some of this stuff, I mean seriously,” DeSantis responded as the crowd applauded.
“We just ran an election,” he continued. “We have this Georgia runoff coming which is very important for Republicans to win that Georgia runoff. I know around the country, Florida was kind of the biggest bright spot.”
“It was not so bright in many other parts of the country,” he said of the midterm elections. “It was a substandard performance given the dynamics that are at play so hopefully we’ll be able to do that, but I think what people like me who ‘ve been given the opportunity to continue is ok, let’s do something with that and the reason why we won historic victory is at the end of the day, we led, we delivered, and we had your back when you needed us.”
“That is why we won big,” he said to more applause.
There is no denying the star power of DeSantis with a prime example being on Tuesday night when he received a rousing welcome at the Republican Governor’s Association meeting in Orlando where he was treated as a conquering hero just before Trump announced that he was mounting his third run for the presidency from Mar-a-Lago.
DeSantis received as a conquering hero minutes before Trump’s announcement https://t.co/aZBxoSXCcp pic.twitter.com/jQ5kB45kwI
— BPR (@BIZPACReview) November 16, 2022
DeSantis has held his cards close to the vest as to whether he will take a run at Biden or whoever the Democrats trot out in 2024.
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