Does Ron DeSantis stand a chance?
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 24 May 2023
⏱️ 17 minutes
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Summary
As the 2024 campaign season approaches, an early favorite to clinch the Republican nomination for president, Ron DeSantis, is starting to lose his shine, just as he is about to officially enter the race.
Read more:
The 44-year-old governor of Florida became a national name by defending former president Donald Trump. But now they are in a power struggle.
DeSantis plans to announce that he is running for president during a Twitter Spaces discussion with Elon Musk Wednesday evening. But the past few months have been challenging for the soon-to-be candidate. Trump has gone on the offensive, attacking DeSantis’s record, and donors are getting nervous. His support of a six-week abortion ban and a feud with Disney are also raising questions about his electability.
Reporter Hannah Knowles discusses what we know about Gov. Ron DeSantis, his policies and his political strategy as he enters the race to become president.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Today, Florida's governor, Rhonda Santas, is expected to announce that he's running for |
| 0:05.0 | president, and he's doing it on Twitter. |
| 0:09.3 | But to win the GOP nomination, he's got to topple the front runner. |
| 0:13.9 | For months, everyone's looked at DeSantis as the most viable challenger to Trump, but Trump |
| 0:19.1 | has kind of only seemed to gain strength in recent months. |
| 0:23.4 | I mean, I think a lot of people honestly thought his power in the party was waning earlier |
| 0:27.1 | this year, and then he kind of made a comeback. |
| 0:29.2 | So DeSantis jumping in is really the defining point of can someone actually give Trump a |
| 0:35.4 | run for his money. |
| 0:40.7 | From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports. |
| 0:44.5 | I'm Anaheim Hattokana. |
| 0:45.5 | I'm your guest host today. |
| 0:47.4 | It's Wednesday, May 24. |
| 0:50.3 | Tonight, DeSantis will officially announce his candidacy. |
| 0:54.3 | But before he does, we'll take a step back. |
| 0:57.4 | We'll discuss DeSantis' rising star, his recent missteps, and how this early GOP favorite |
| 1:03.5 | might fare on the crowded campaign trail, especially against one of his early political |
| 1:08.8 | allies, former president Trump. |
| 1:17.6 | DeSantis' 44, he really entered politics with this elite resume. |
| 1:23.8 | He went to Yale and Harvard Law School, and then he was in the Navy for a while. |
| 1:32.6 | DeSantis was a congressman before he was governor, and he was kind of little known. |
| 1:37.6 | He was part of the House Freedom Caucus, which includes a lot of the most conservative |
... |
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