MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough warned Tuesday that Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is a “formidable opponent” for President Joe Biden should he win the 2024 nomination.
Co-host Willie Geist said DeSantis’ ongoing feud with Disney might give Biden the upper hand on the debate stage, arguing most Americans don’t understand the ongoing legal disputes between the media giant and the sunshine state.
Scarborough agreed, arguing that running on a Disney platform isn’t a winning strategy for DeSantis. (RELATED: Biden Mocks DeSantis’ Campaign Announcement For Having Technical Difficulties)
“What did we hear repeatedly in the summer of 2022? What we heard was the biggest issues are inflation, jobs, the southern border, you go down the list, gas prices. You go down the list, these issues, these economic issues, and Republicans said Democrats won’t talk about them,” Scarborough said. “And then they go into the 2022 election, and they’re talking about these issues, again, that a small number of Americans care about and they get absolutely walloped at the polls in ’22. Mika, listen I don’t agree with the conventional wisdom about Ron DeSantis. I think, right now, he is even money. And I know a lot of people would laugh at that. I think Ron DeSantis right now is even money to be the next Republican nominee for president. I do think that if he learns how to get out of his way, and we’re still, you know, nine months off from elections, he could beat Donald Trump because he is so much more competent than Donald Trump.”
“He’s supposed to come without the baggage Donald Trump has,” Scarborough continued. “As he said in his press conference, he doesn’t know a whole lot about paying off porn stars, so he can’t really answer those types of questions. There could be a great contrast. But here’s the deal. If he runs as a Trump-ite, he loses. If he runs as a Main Street Republican who is for balanced budgets, a strong military, and small ‘c’ conservatism, I think he wins going away. And he is a really formidable opponent for Joe Biden in the fall.”
DeSantis has pitched himself as the only Republican who could beat Biden, telling donors in early May that he, former President Donald Trump and Biden are the only “credible” options for the White House.
“I think of those three, two have a chance to get elected president – Biden and me, and based on all the data in the swing states, which is not great for the former president and probably insurmountable because people aren’t going to change their view of him,” DeSantis said, according to The New York Times.
DeSantis is also campaigning on reversing several Biden-era policies.