I like DeSantis' chances. Trump might be the OG, but trumpers seem to like DeSantis well enough, and he doesn't have nearly as much baggage. In Primary voters might be persuaded that he will be better in the general and still deliver on all their trumpy goals.
I will never understand the Trump appeal, but I see it with DeSantis. Love his policies or hate them, he has been extremely effective in pushing forward his agenda. He's a winner rather than a loser like Trump. He went from a narrow margin win in 2018 to a huge victory in 2022. He's well educated. He served in the Navy. He does not carry any of the personal or business baggage that Trump has. I would prefer DeSantis over Trump as a president, but a big part of me would prefer Trump to be the nominee because it gives the Dems a better chance of winning. If it is DeSantis vs. Biden, I think Republicans win by a wide margin and will once again control all parts of the Federal Government.
Trump by his own words is a force of chaos. DeSantis is much more typical Rightwing politician. DeSantis isn't interested in overthrowing the system or having things wild. He uses hard rhetoric and political stunts but as his hurricane response showed he actually wants to govern. Trump could really care less about governing. As shown with his response to Hurricane Maria he would've rather gotten rid of Puerto Rico than deal with it.
I think DeSantis will beat Trump but it may hurt the brand for 2024. I think DeSantis has been effective pushing forward his agenda in Florida, but Florida was also heavily targeted by the GOP and molded into what it is today. He won’t have that same infrastructure nationally. He isn’t charismatic or a particularly compelling speaker though.
He understands that Disney made some woke garbage shows and wanted to make Mickey and Minnie Mouse the same person
But he didn't understand that as a politician, he shouldn't be interfering in how Disney runs their business.
Tell that to Trump and Desantis. Once the GOP stops preaching hatred maybe I'll be able to vote for one of them again.