NOSEDIVE

DeSantis Flops on D.C. Trip as His Own State’s Reps Defect to Trump

“[DeSantis] is in a much weaker position now than he was a few months ago. Trump is in a much stronger position,” said one Republican strategist.

The rise and fall of Ron DeSantis’ unofficial, as-yet-unannounced presidential campaign has been remarkable. Seeking to regain momentum after Republicans closed ranks behind Donald Trump in the wake of his Manhattan indictment, the Florida governor traveled to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, ostensibly to convene with disaffected establishment GOPers. Things didn’t quite go according to plan. Before the Florida governor even touched down, three more members of his own state’s congressional delegation had already declared their support for Trump. Though DeSantis was greeted by a full house at the right-wing Heritage Foundation, the trip didn’t help him garner anything in the way of high-profile endorsements. “[DeSantis] is in a much weaker position now than he was a few months ago. Trump is in a much stronger position,” one Republican strategist told Politico, amid polling showing DeSantis trailing the former president by 23 points.