“The Chance of Him Getting Elected Is Small”: DeSantis Says Trump Is a “High-Risk” and “Low Reward” Nominee

William FurneyNov 25, 2023

Minute Read

The GOP and Republican voters are placing too much hope in Donald Trump because he’s a big risk and will most likely not become the next president, presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis says.

‘Hands Tied’ if Back in White House

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And the embattled Florida governor said even if Trump were to be elected in November next year and get another term in the White House, he would essentially be unable to do much.

No to Trump Again

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Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, DeSantis, 45, tried to make his case why Trump — the GOP nominee frontrunner — should not be president again.

‘Lame Duck’ President

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DeSantis said: “The point is simple: Donald Trump is a high-risk proposition as a nominee because I think the chance of him getting elected is small. But it’s a low reward because he’s gonna be a lame duck on day one.”

‘Tarnished Reputation’

The Sunshine State leader, who is trailing far behind Trump in national polling, suggested that were Trump to become president again, his name had become so tarnished that he wouldn’t get the kind of top people needed for a government. And that he’d have other things on his mind too, referencing his many legal difficulties.

‘Too Many Problems’

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DeSantis said of candidate Trump that “even if he could get elected, he would not be able to attract the type of talent to work in his administration, and he would be saddled with all of these distractions, it would be virtually impossible to get the job done.”

DeSantis’ Polling Problem

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Not many Republicans will be voting for DeSantis in primaries in January, according to national polling that puts him at around 14 percent compared to Trump’s massive lead of almost 60 percent support among registered Republican voters.

DeSantis: Youthful Candidate Better

DeSantis, speaking shortly before President Biden turned 81 and referring to Trump’s 77 years, said his relative youth positioned him as a better candidate for the GOP nomination.

President Is ‘No Job for Old Men’

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The governor said: “The presidency is not a job for somebody that is pushing 80 years old. I just think that that’s something that has been shown with Joe Biden. I’m in the prime of my life. I’ll go in day one; I’ll serve two terms, deliver big results, get the country moving again.”

Biden and Trump’s Issues

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President Biden’s recent string of stumbles and falls while on stage and walking the steps of the presidential airplane, Air Force One, as well as rambling speeches and comments to reporters have done little to offset concerns he is too old for the job. Trump has also had a series of seemingly age-related issues, including muddling the names of heads of state and a city he was in.

Most Americans ‘Don’t Want Biden to Run’

Recent polling suggests that the majority of Americans, including Democratic voters, believe Biden is too old to run for the presidency again, let alone serve another term as commander in chief. He would be 82 by the time of swearing in, in January 2025, if he won next November.

Trump’s Legal Problems

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Additionally, Trump is facing an array of federal criminal charges, having been indicted four times. He is accused, in Georgia and at federal level, of trying to overturn the result of the 2020 election he lost to Biden and prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Another indictment alleges he removed classified files from the White House at the end of his term and kept them at his Mar-a-Lago resort home in Florida, refusing to hand them over when requested. And another indictment claims Trump paid money via a former lawyer to cover up an alleged affair with an adult film actress and falsified accounting so no one would know.

Prospect of Trump Behind Bars

Trump has pleaded not guilty to the indictments, which carry a total of 91 criminal charges. He says they are the work of Democratic operatives seeking to stop him from getting back to the White House. But should he win the election next year and also be convicted on some or even all of the charges, he could end up in prison, from where he technically could still govern. That’s because the US Constitution doesn’t say anything about president not being able to rule if jailed for a crime

DeSantis’ Own Woes

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Apart from his dismal presidential poll showing, the Florida governor is also facing trouble at home. What critics have described as his “war on woke” — a clampdown on the LGBTQ community, harsher measures against migrants and attempts to “whitewash” black history in the state — appears to have backfired after officials said tourism was starting to suffer amid a raft of convention and other cancellations.