Florida Governor Ron
DeSantis is doing everything but
but announcing his run for 2024 out
with a new book
out with a new video
paid for by his campaign committee.
Let's have a brief clip of that
and I want to get your reaction
We are the nation's fastest
growing state.
We ranked number one in education
freedom.
We are number one in economic freedom.
Florida also ranks
number one in public higher education.
This is a record we can all be proud of.
For the state's governor, DeSantis
because he's a winner.
That's what the guy does. He went.
Decline is a choice.
Success is attainable and freedom
is worth fighting for.
That looks a lot like a video
for a presidential candidate.
Margaret Talev.
Did the music give you a clue?
Also,
this is the part of the silly part
of the campaign season where everyone
has the conversation that says,
does this mean that Ron
DeSantis is going to run?
And the answer is yes.
Obviously,
why would you do any of these things
if you weren't intending to run?
The question is, what is the rollout?
What's the timing of that announcement?
How do you stage it?
And we can see some clues
from the ramp up
events around a book release
and around his decision
at this point not to participate in CPAC
because he doesn't have to.
He's going to get his own coverage
and differentiate himself from the pack.
Laura?
Donald Trump clearly not comfortable
with a Ron DeSantis candidacy.
He's already
trying out
a bunch of nicknames
for him and attacking him
saying that he's responsible for his
for DeSantis, his success.
How does that
potential rivalry
play out in any Republican primary?
I mean,
are other Republicans
do they see opportunity,
perhaps, that DeSantis and Trump
consume each other
Potentially.
But I think that
a lot of the Republican strategists
I've talked to,
you think that the more candidates
that jump in, the more that that benefit
the former President Trump
in particular with DeSantis, mean
he is the biggest threat
to the former president
and the president.
The former president
does have some avenues
to try to differentiate himself
from DeSantis,
particularly on something
that we're hearing a lot
about from President Biden right now,
which is Medicare and Social Security.
Trump did
this last time around, pointing out
that a lot of these Republicans
supported potential cuts to entitlement
and DeSantis was one of them.
And that's something
that I think we could see
the different little policy differences
that the former president tries to
to point out, particularly with DeSantis.
Indeed, Laura Baron Lopez.
Margaret Talev.
Good to have you both on with me.
To share their reporting
and their insights,
Arianna Sotomayor of The Washington Post,
CNN's Dana Bash
and Francesca Chambers of USA Today.
It is interesting, as others
get into the race,
DeSantis feels
he has the luxury
of doing a book tour first
and then getting in
because if you look at the early polling
emphasis on early polling,
he's up there with Donald Trump.
Everybody else is way,
way, way, way, way behind.
Yeah, he's definitely waiting the waters
and he can afford to do that right now.
There's still time,
even though we are in this world
of very early political races.
The interesting thing about DeSantis is
there are a number of Republicans,
including on Capitol Hill,
who very much applauded
the fact that he
really blew it
out of the water in his governor's
reelection race.
But the thing is, is as
we saw in the midterms,
and this is going to be
an interesting thing
as he's going around the country
Pennsylvania,
Michigan, states that really were pivotal
to a lot of Republican voters,
actually said,
you know what,
these people who are running like Trump
who are just focusing
on the culture wars,
that is a staple of DeSantis as governor.
I have no idea yet
if that's going to resonate
in those places
that really do elect the president.
But I think that's a fascinating point
in the sense
that presidential primaries
tend to litigate
and they're supposed
to settle differences.
When a party is debating who are we,
what are we for?
DeSantis is interesting.
He's just signing into law
now this new law in Florida
that allows him
essentially to control Disney,
to have some significant control
over Disney.
And listen to this in an interview
with Mark Levin on Fox over the weekend.
Again, he's promoting his new book
and he's talking
about using government power
against those who do
things with whom you disagree
that Wall Street
banks will
not give a loan
to someone, say, in the firearm industry
that's effectively changing
gun rights in America,
not getting any votes to do that.
They're not winning any elections
to do that,
but they're bringing power to bear
in a way that does affect public policy.
So help me with the intellectual
consistency question.
Republicans say if you are a baker
and you don't want to sell a cake
or provide services to a gay wedding,
that should be your right
as an individual.
Ron DeSantis
there is saying if a bank decides
it will not lend money to somebody
with whom
they have some disagreement,
the government can step in
and do something about it. Huh.
It's such a fascinating
dichotomy slash contradiction
that we are going to see play out
as part of the Republican
nominating process.
And that is
what does being a conservative
actually mean?
Does it mean the historic definition,
which is keep government
out of your life,
maybe more leaning towards a libertarian?
That is certainly what you're going to
you're going to hear
and see some of the candidates say
and you're going to hear them
say that they're the true conservative,
not the DeSantis
wing or DeSantis himself,
who says, I'm going to enforce
the conservative ideals
by using the government.
It's absolutely, as I said, fascinating.
I asked Ronna McDaniel,
the RNC chair, to sort of
try to litigate that.
Of course, she wouldn't,
because we do see that
coming down the pike
as one of the key questions
you see coming down the pike.
The Club for Growth
is one of the conservative groups
that are calling people together
essentially cattle calls.
They bring donors in
and they bring potential candidates.
And so people can try to impress,
to raise money at the Club for Growth.
Guest list includes
Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Governor
DeSantis, the Mike Pompeo
a Governor, Youngkin of Virginia, Senator
Tim Scott.
I mean, again,
you have this debate about
it used to be
Ronald Reagan's Republican
Party, to your point was keep
the government out as much as possible.
Free market
Don't tell the private business
what to do.
Let them do their thing
and have basic regulation.
We're going to have a fascinating
debate over
DeSantis, who
a lot of Trump voters will like that
use your power to punish your enemies
or punish those who cross you.
But it's not free market conservatism.
But also notice
who was left off that list,
which is Donald Trump
The Club for Growth tells me
he was not invited to this confab.
So it does again show you
how there are many Republicans
who want to keep Trump's ideals,
but they want to move on from Trumpism.
But to your point, Dana.
But what does that even mean
at this point?
Several of the Republican
candidates are Would-Be
candidates have really just struggled
to define in the last couple of weeks
how their policies would be different
than Trump, how
they would actually be different
than Donald Trump.
So I do think
that that is going to be a key
question that's facing
many of these candidates
is beyond January six,
like what
would you actually do
that's different than Donald Trump
and why you versus
someone else on this stage?
And when we get them on a stage,
thank you for the use of that term.
August, the first planned
Republican presidential primary debate.
You mentioned your conversation
with Chairwoman McDaniel.
She was appointed by Trump.
She's viewed by many in the party.
You don't like Trump
as too close to Trump.
She's clearly deciding
to create some space
or try to create some space
for Donald Trump,
including the idea
she says,
if you want to be on the stage of a party
sponsored debate,
you should sign a pledge promising
that if you're not the nominee,
you will support who is.
If you're going to be on the Republican
National Committee debate stage
asking voters to support you,
you should say I'm going
to support the voters
and who they choose
as the nominee, as RNC chair.
If I said I wouldn't
support the Republican nominee,
I would be removed from office.
Anybody getting on the Republican
National Committee debate stage
should be able to say
I will support the will of the voters
and the eventual nominee of our party.
It worked
at least to a degree, in the sense
that within an hour
or so after that interview,
Trump's campaign
said, of course, released a
and of course, we'll support
the Republican nominee
because it will be me. Right.
You know, so
but but in a way, she at least
got him halfway there.
Yes.
Obviously, Donald
Trump and the question about him
and his loyalty
is one of the factors in the equation.
It hasn't been tested
because the first time Republicans signed
this was in 2016 because of the
sort of consternation about Donald Trump
as the potential nominee.
Wasn't tested
because he became the nominee.
Now it's it's so multifaceted
because it's not just about Donald Trump
and who he support.
It's even more importantly,
the other candidates, especially those
who have said
very explicitly Donald Trump
should not be president again
he is not qualified.
He tried to overthrow the government.
How can I sign a pledge
supporting his candidacy?
You're asking me to put
party over country
and I don't feel comfortable with that.
That is one of the open questions
about what those candidates will do.
And so do
they want people to actually sign pen
to paper, all of them?
Well, and some Republicans
tell me that
they don't see this as enforceable.
Sure.
You sign it, you get on the debate stage.
But after that,
if you're not the nominee,
what's to actually make
you support Donald Trump?
Of course, you're your own truthfulness.
Your own conscious, of course, is
what one of the Republican
potential candidates,
Asa Hutchinson told me is,
is that you have your own word there
that you have to look at.
But they see it as a potential impediment
for getting more people on
the debate stage
is having to write a quote
unquote blank check, as he called it,
to support the eventual nominee.
So I'm trying to think
who would be in the group of people
who would not sign such a thing?
Liz Cheney,
maybe Larry Hogan,
who might run anyone else?
Chris Christie. Chris Christie.
All right. We'll see how that list grows.