'Sinking' DeSantis in danger of falling out of second place: ex-Trump official

A Republican operative who worked in the Trump administration said that Ron DeSantis’ crumbling campaign has created an opening for a new No. 2 in the Republican presidential race.

But Alyssa Farah Griffin, who served as Donald Trump’s White House director of strategic communications and now co-hosts "The View," said during an appearance on CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins” that any candidate serious about making a run at the nomination will have to take a more aggressive stance against her former boss.

Griffin said that “with DeSantis sinking, there is an opportunity for someone to emerge as the No. 2, I think it's likely a (former South Carolina Gov.) Nikki Haley or (Sen) Tim Scott (R-SC), but it will require them to get aggressive and define why Donald Trump can't be the leader.”

Recent polling suggests Trump has an almost insurmountable lead in the GOP race. Trump in a New York Times/Siena College poll of likely Republican primary voters led DeSantis by a whopping 34-point margin (54 percent to 17 percent.)

Scott and Haley were locked in a three-way tie for third place with former vice president Mike Pence with the support of three percent of voters surveyed.

“Part of it is the electability issue, he (Donald Trump) is who Joe Biden wants to run against,” Griffin said.

“Joe Biden is chomping at the bit to run against Donald Trump because he thinks he can beat them again. If it's a Nikki Haley, if it's a Tim Scott, if it's a Will Hurd, that's a much more challenging thing for the incumbent president.”

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