Washington author, political consultant and gadfly 70-year-old Roger Stone warned 44-year-old Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to stay away from running for president in 2024. Stone thinks Trump made DeSantis and should not compete with 76-year-old former President Donald Trump should he announce after the Nov. 8 Midterms his intent to run in 2024. DeSantis and Trump are two Republicans often mentioned in the 2024 presidential sweepstakes, despite the fact neither person has made any announcement. But when it comes to running for President, Stone knows that all bets are off when it comes to past relationships, knowing that the beauty contest, all the presidential primaries, picks the president, not limiting the list of candidates that throw their hats in the right. How hypocritical of Stone to think that DeSantis, a potentially viable candidate, should refuse to run.
Stone has morphed into a big-time eccentric in his old age but his the cache of working on the Republican campaigns of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Trump is gone. Whether that gives him any credibility or not is anyone’s guess. Trump commuted the sentence July 10, 2020 due to serve 40 months for obstructing a Congressional investigation into the Russian Hoax. New York Times found Stone’s charges legitimate while they excused themselves for participating for four years in fake stories about Trump’s ties to the Kremlin. House Democrats were 100% convinced Trump was guilty of fixing the 2016 presidential election with the help of Russian President Vladimir Putin. After all, that was something former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said with her fake Steele dossier, used at the time by Democrats to sabotage Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Always with the flair for the dramatic, Stone called DeSantis wife Casey, Lady Macbeth, accusing her of “regicide” for trying to slay King Trump, a comparison so preposterous, so absurd, so outrageous it gets Stone headlines. ”If Gov. Ron DeSantis challenges @realDonaldTrump who has made it clear that he will be a candidate in 2024 it would be the most stunning act of ingratitude and treachery in the his to American politics,” Stone wrote. Whatever Stone hopes to get from another Trump presidency is anyone’s guess. What’s known for sure is that Stone is quart low lecturing anyone what to do in a future political decision. Whatever Trump did to help DeSantis win the Florida governorship, he owes Trump nothing. DeSantis did the campaigning and Florida voters picked him as governor, not Trump. Stone wants relevancy when he’s below anyone’s standards.
Singling out Casey DeSantis is yet another example of Stone’s histrionic sidie. “Have you ever noticed how much Ron DeSantis wife Casey is like Lady Macbeth?” Whatever the compairison, it’s a real stretch, knowing that Casey has nothing to do whether Ron decides to run in 2024. Stone like other Trump-backers worry that the former president’s old age and track record makes another presidential run impractical. Trump must have more than 30% of his base, appealing to independents and crossover Democrats to pull of any victory. Given what voters know a bout Trump, he’s hardly a shoe-in for the presidency. Whatever interest in DeSantis, it’s because he doesn’t have Trump’s baggage in any presidential campaign. Stone can’t pick-and-choose what anyone does, certainly no decide the 2024 nominee. Even if Trump’s the “front-runner,” it doesn’t mean he’d be the 2024 nominee.
Stone was the first to point out that DeSantis was not invited to a Trump’s November rally in Miami, warning the Florida governor not to hold any events competing with Trump’s schedule. Presidential primary races involve Republican voters deciding who’d they like to represent the party in the next election cycle. Whether DeSantis wanted to show deference to Trump or not, his backers in any state determine who gets votes and who doesn’t. It’s not up to DeSantis to decide who runs or who doesn’t in a presidential primary contest. It’s all about the polling that shows DeSantis up by one percent against Trump in a recent poll. Trump has far more name recognition that DeSantis at this point. But things change once DeSantis starts to fundraise, line up his backers and go on the campaign trail. Whoever primary voters like, that’s who’ll win primaries in a presidential contest.
Stone would like to think he has clout in today’s Republican Party. After commuted and pardoned by Trump, Stone has a new lease on an otherwise irrelevant life, no longer the same noisemaker he once was in the GOP. DeSantis hinted recently that he might toss his hat in the ring, refusing to say whether he would complete a full term as Florida governor. Whether DeSantis runs in 2024 or not, it doesn’t mean his appeal will catch on. While Trump’s already beaten a formidable field of GOP candidates in 2016, it’s a different ballgame this time around. Trump isn’t building his base, he holding on to his hardcore followers without any guarantees that he can expand his base to more independents and crossover Democrats. No former president has a bigger anti-Trump group in his own party ready to spend millions to prevent him from winning the 2024 nomination.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
