Opinion: Trump's attacks on DeSantis are unnecessary and self-defeating

When Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the presidency on June 16, 2015, in New York, many Republican and Democratic leaders did not take him seriously.

Others, however, for better or for worse, saw the potential of the then-businessman, and immediately saw him as an existential threat, dedicating every second of the rest of their lives to trying to destroy who would later become the 45th President of the United States.

In 2016, Trump presented himself as an anti-establishment candidate who would bring order to Washington, promised to "drain the swamp." He accused the political class of destroying the nation, described himself as unmanageable, and claimed that the press would be against him. He was right.

Almost all of Trump's prophecies came true: since he arrived at the White House, there was not a day that he was not demonized. Whether he did good or bad things, each of the 365 days of the year, the mainstream media found a horrendous story about the then-Republican president to show to millions of viewers around the world.

Despite the adversity, Donald Trump maintained a very good government. His economic numbers were irrefutable, and his foreign policy efforts would have to be framed. He did not initiate any new wars and managed to broker peace agreements in the Middle East that no one had dreamed of in recent years. Until the COVID-19 pandemic arrived and things changed forever: the thriving economy came to a halt, radical leftists began to set the country's streets on fire following the death of George Floyd, and the mainstream media conspired to hide very important information about the Biden family in order to remove Trump from power.

No one with an advanced critical sense can deny that the first four years of Donald Trump in the White House were very positive for the United States. At the same time, no one can deny that the Trump of 2023 would embarrass the resolute leader of 2016.

That brave man who in 2016 energetically faced the political establishment and the mainstream media, today seems to feel strongly threatened by the presence of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Trump's fixation is such that not a day goes by without him criticizing the most successful Republican governor in decades. Instead of praising the Florida leader and challenging him to compete for the Republican ticket, Trump has launched a campaign to discredit him that, at times, seems to affect him more than DeSantis himself.

A campaign with low blows out of place, and lies that only a very blinded fanatic could believe, such as when he claimed that DeSantis was in favor of quarantine, that he is a globalist, or that he is just another RINO.

Trump just cited the pro-BLM, Zuckerberg-funded National Low Income Housing Coalition, a member of the George Soros-funded Alliance for Justice, in order to attack Governor DeSantis and trash the state of Florida.

What happened to Donald Trump?

— Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) April 21, 2023

Trump's attacks against DeSantis are not only regrettable because they are based on lies, but because he has gone to the extreme of praising Democrats and even citing articles from Joy Reid and the mainstream media or institutions funded by George Soros, with the purpose of attacking the governor of Florida's management, further ridiculing his own figure.

The former president and his associates have even sided with large corporations that promote progressive agendas and gender ideology, such as Disney or Budweiser, just to try to destroy DeSantis' image.

Trump now attacking DeSantis using MSNBC and Joy Reid articles. pic.twitter.com/C0jXxKanjA

— David Reaboi, Late Republic Nonsense (@davereaboi) April 21, 2023

Let it be clear: this article is not in any way a defense of DeSantis, but rather a criticism of Trump's erratic behavior: a Trump that is hurting the legacy of the 2016 candidate who feared nothing and no one, who would not defend companies promoting gender ideology, and much less waste his time trying to destroy potential political allies, instead of confronting the Democrats, who have done so much damage to the country, especially in the last decade.

The former president's insults towards the Florida governor certainly hurt Trump more than DeSantis himself, and to make matters worse, they show the former White House resident as an insecure person who is incapable of honestly competing against one of his political disciples. If we transferred this scenario to the world of sports, it would be the equivalent of Rafael Nadal asking Carlos Alcaraz, the present and future promise of world tennis, to stop playing until he retires out of "respect" for his status.

Far from trying to destroy DeSantis, Trump should invite him to a five-set match, encourage him to debate and exchange ideas. He should, in short, demonstrate with facts, words, and a well-crafted campaign that he is better prepared than the Governor of Florida to reach the White House. However, his actions make it seem precisely the opposite.

No one doubts that Trump has faced tough and low blows from the mainstream media and the political and judicial apparatus of the Democratic Party; no one denies that his government has been one of the best in the country in recent decades.

However, if he truly wants to return to power, he must do so from the strength of his proposals, not from the pity generated by the continuous attacks he has received throughout his political career. This is the moment to demonstrate resilience and not give the impression that so many blows received now make him fear facing with honor a rising star of the Republican Party.

The goal of any sensible person currently living in the United States should be to snatch power from the elites of the Democratic Party, whose actions are destroying from within the world's leading superpower with increasingly radical economic strategies, a disastrous foreign policy, and promoting the destruction of America's future and the country's children through indoctrination in the education system and calls to mutilate the genitals of little ones who are just learning to tie their shoes.It is no secret that a bipartisan system has prevailed in the United States for centuries, and currently there is no third option.

The only salvation can come from the ranks of the Republican Party, and what we all aspire to as those who want common sense to return to the White House is a dignified, high-level confrontation in which political proposals take precedence over personal attacks, in order to choose the best representative of the GOP to face the Democrats in general elections.

I am convinced that the Donald Trump of 2016 would be ashamed of the Donald Trump of 2023. The good news is that he still has time to redeem himself; otherwise, GOP voters would do well to support DeSantis for 2024.