Is there trouble brewing in MAGA paradise? As the Republican presidential primary race heads into summer, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis finds himself in a surrogate spat with the biotech entrepreneur—and fellow GOP hopeful—Vivek Ramaswamy.
In case you haven’t been following this internecine tiff, here’s a recap: On June 3, Ramaswamy criticized DeSantis for signing Florida’s HB-269—a law designed to “provide law enforcement agencies with new enforcement mechanisms to punish perpetrators of antisemitic incidents and those who target religious communities”—telling CNBC that DeSantis “signed a hate speech bill earlier this year at his donors’ request.”
Dave Rubin, a conservative podcaster and effusive DeSantis supporter, responded by accusing Ramaswamy of “doing Trump’s dirty work.” Then, Ramaswamy’s press secretary accused Rubin of taking money from Team DeSantis. Both Rubin and DeSantis’ rapid response director (who has appeared as a guest on Rubin’s show) flatly denied the allegation.
ADVERTISEMENT
But the Ramaswamy vs. DeSantis battle didn’t end there.
On the heels of Trump’s arraignment, Ramaswamy pledged that, if he is elected and Trump is convicted, he would pardon the former president for mishandling classified information. He also challenged all his fellow Republican rivals to pledge to do the same.
Ramaswamy then criticized DeSantis for refusing to sign the pledge.
“I don’t think it’s good when politicians try to hide, try to talk out of both sides of their mouth,” Ramaswamy told Rolling Stone. “It’s possible [DeSantis will] come out adopting my position later. I think that’s a trend we’ve seen throughout this campaign. If the last six months are any indication, my prediction is he’ll come around to my position.”
There have been other examples where Ramaswamy has taken shots at DeSantis, but the previous examples are the most significant to date.
So why is this happening?
Domestic disputes tend to be the ugliest, and both men are fighting over the same turf (DeSantis’ slogan is that Florida is “where woke goes to die,” and Ramaswamy literally wrote a book called, Woke, Inc.).
As to the allegations that Ramaswamy’s campaign is really a clandestine effort to help Trump and hurt DeSantis, it’s impossible to know whether Ramaswamy’s behavior is merely the inevitable byproduct of Ramaswamy responding to incentives.
Why would Ramaswamy challenge the biggest bully in the schoolyard when he knows he can’t defeat Trump? And since Trump is the clear front-runner, buddying up to the likely nominee makes more sense for someone seeking a prominent appointment (or Fox News gig) in the future.
Whether he is acting as a stalking horse (the pro-DeSantis pundit John Cardillo has called Ramaswamy a “Trump surrogate”) or simply responding to perverse incentives, it hardly matters. Ramaswamy is a serious fly in the ointment for DeSantis, who fortunately has his own right-leaning influencers capable of pushing back and providing cover.
We are left with a dynamic that is tantamount to a “crabs in the bucket” dilemma, where whichever “crab” is attempting to escape will be dragged back down by the others.
Right now, DeSantis is the crab trying to break out of the pack and have a clear shot at Trump.
But make no mistake, this is now personal, and if Ramaswamy has a big moment—which he might in a primary debate—you’ll hear more from DeSantis stans about how Ramaswamy paid to have his Wikipedia page scrubbed of information regarding a fellowship tied to George Soros’ family, as well as his work for Ohio’s Coronavirus Response Team.
Regardless of which crab (or candidate) gets dragged down, this dynamic, coupled with another large primary field, sets the stage for Trump to win the nomination once again with a plurality.
For those Democrats or Never Trumpers who have already accepted this sad fate, and are viewing this MAGA-on-MAGA violence as tantamount to the Iran-Iraq war (can’t they both lose?!?), this spectacle will, no doubt, arouse some schadenfreude.
And if DeSantis’ efforts to ape Trump ultimately backfire, there will be some crowing about karma and the notion that “revolutions eventually devour their own.”
And they’ll have a point. The truth is that DeSantis’ efforts to cast himself as an anti-woke culture warrior will never be enough to convince true MAGA fans that he isn’t really a normal Republican politician who is playing a role. (For example, Ramaswamy has been praised by far-right activist (and DeSantis hater) Laura Loomer.)
No matter how many Florida laws DeSantis signs, the truly Trumpy right will never really love him back. Ramaswamy, the rich tech bro who has never signed a law and who was generally unknown until recently, is more likely to inherit the keys to the kingdom. Nobody said this would be fair.
