Trump's chief pollster explains why Ron DeSantis may be 'inheriting' Trump's role in the GOP
It looks like the political future is bright for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), NBC News reports.
DeSantis may be a polarizing figure overall — it's safe to say he doesn't have many fans in the Democratic Party — but he does appear to have high approval marks across the board in the GOP. He's reportedly garnering interest from donors outside the Sunshine State, and even former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) says he's a "fan."
If DeSantis does decide to run for president in 2024, he'll likely get a boost thanks to his popularity among former President Donald Trump's supporters. Trump's chief pollster from 2016 and 2020, Tony Fabrizio, thinks DeSantis may be the one to fill the void if Trump doesn't take another shot at the White House. "When you look under the hood of those numbers," Fabrizio told NBC News, referring to a recent survey that showed DeSantis was neck and neck with former Vice President Mike Pence in a hypothetical Trump-less 2024 GOP primary, "DeSantis garners a lot of support from Trump voters in the absence of Trump."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Fabrizio believes the coverage of DeSantis' controversial COVID-19 pandemic decisions helped fuel his national rise. "As the media beat him up as the anti-[New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D)] and DeSantis stood up for himself, voters liked that," Fabrizio said. "They associated that type of scrappiness and speaking your mind with Donald Trump. He is inheriting a lot of that." Read more at NBC News.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Could smaller cars bring down vehicle prices?Today’s Big Question Trump seems to think so, but experts aren’t so sure
-
2025’s most notable new albumsThe Week Recommends These were some of the finest releases of the past year
-
Trump aims to take down ‘global mothership’ of climate scienceIN THE SPOTLIGHT By moving to dismantle Colorado’s National Center for Atmospheric Research, the White House says it is targeting ‘climate alarmism’
-
US offers Ukraine NATO-like security pact, with caveatsSpeed Read The Trump administration has offered Ukraine security guarantees similar to those it would receive from NATO
-
Hong Kong court convicts democracy advocate LaiSpeed Read Former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was convicted in a landmark national security trial
-
Australia weighs new gun laws after antisemitic attackSpeed Read A father and son opened fire on Jewish families at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing at least 15
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Benin thwarts coup attemptSpeed Read President Patrice Talon condemned an attempted coup that was foiled by the West African country’s army
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
