Grab that popcorn!
DeSantis was on Fox News to talk about his new book, and of course the hosts had to try to get anything they could out of him about a potential presidential run.
I want you to pay very careful attention to the following conversation, so I've presented the entire question and answer for you.
Fox host Bill Hemmer noted that you can get a lot of things done as an executive when you have the people and the legislature behind you. Now that DeSantis won a sweeping reelection, he has a golden ticket to craft law and policy in his state (something we Michiganders are very fearful of as Gretchen Whitmer and a Democratic legislature ramp up gun control and abortion laws).
Here's what Hemmer asked:
Hemmer: You had a state House that was favorable toward you. And a lot of people would argue, you know, once you get those votes, you can pass a lot of things. And I think there will be news out of Tallahassee in the coming days and weeks because of that. But on Dana's point here, the last chapter in your book is only six and a half pages long, I think is the shortest chapter. But the title is Make America Florida. Now, in your view, what does that look like? And in your timeline?
There's a lot of purposeful symbolism in this line of questioning.
The shortest chapter is the last one, but the title is "Make America Florida." What does that look like?
Goodness, Hemmer, why don't you just come out and ask DeSantis if he's running already? 🤣
The Fox hosts want to know when and if DeSantis is going to take what he's doing in Florida to the White House. Because DeSantis isn't stupid, he knows what they are asking. Look at the freaking chyron at the bottom of the screen:
With that context in mind, here's his response:
DeSantis: "So we're going to have a three month run here where I think we're going to be able to deliver more than we've already delivered. And we've delivered more than just about anyone. And I think that that's going to be something that — you win the election, it's vindication for the four years. And I was glad to do that, because a lot of people wrote me off during COVID when we were charting our own course. But it really gives you an opportunity to do this. So that's going to be my focus, then when we get on the other side of that, assuming we've been successful, we'll take a look at what that would mean for national."
Translation: "I'm going to focus on making Florida as amazing as possible the next three months, then we'll talk about how to export that to America."
Everyone wants DeSantis to jump into the ring guns blazing to take on Trump in a Godzilla v. King Kong fight.
But DeSantis is focused on doing what his voters elected him to do. If that is successful, he's going to use that as a template for the entire nation.
Honestly, that's smart. It's certainly better statesmanship than empty platitudes about "democracy" and "rights," and it's more concrete than slogans like "Make America Great Again" and "Drain The Swamp."
All the slogans in the world don't make demonstrable policy. You can invest in a business idea because it has a good marketing campaign, but that doesn't mean said business knows how to make a profit. Proof of concept is much more powerful.
Speaking of a Trump-DeSantis showdown, however, the Fox hosts tried to tease that out as well:
Hemmer: "You also give a nod to Donald Trump and the support that he gave you during that campaign. He has talked about that in different venues in different ways since then. In 2023, how much do you believe a Trump endorsement matters in American Republican politics today?"
And the response:
DeSantis: "You know, I don't know. I mean, I think our voters always make their own decisions. And they consider obviously endorsements. And at that time when he was president, his was the big enchilada. But our voters want to look at you and size you up. And they take this responsibility very, very seriously. But when I wrote that in the book about the consequential — the fact is, there was a big difference between me and my Democratic opponent 2018. I mean, you couldn't probably have been any different. And that would have been consequential no matter what."
That's about as close as DeSantis is going to get to saying, "I appreciate Trump but his influence, especially in 2023, is vastly overblown."
Here's the full interview if you want it:
