Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, already mired behind Trump by roughly 30 points, has faced a series of campaign disasters over the last several days, including doubling down on supporting a state education guideline that says slavery taught Black people useful skills, and is reportedly meeting with aides and donors to plot a campaign reset.
But even if DeSantis manages to turn things around and triumph, against all odds, to win the GOP nomination, noted former Biden White House communications chief Kate Bedingfield on CNN Monday, said he would have an entirely new problem: a furious Trump who will insist he stole the race.
"What do you make of the plan to run this campaign, if you will — what do you make of this pivot from the Florida governor?" asked anchor Wolf Blitzer.
"I think campaigns can make logistical changes, but the problem for Ron DeSantis is his position is so far outside," said Bedingfield. "This is an election that's going to be decided by an incredibly narrow band of, essentially narrow voters across the country. What we see over and over again was a doubling down, a tripling down on some of the most extreme social issues, some of the most hardcore right-wing positions that are not appealing to some of the audience. Unless he's overhauling an entirely different message, I don't think he'll get traction with the mainstream voters, he needs to win a general election."
And, she added, the problem is that "even if his campaign is able to do that, he'll be dealing with an aggrieved Donald Trump, who will be angry."
"Can we imagine a world where Donald Trump says Ron DeSantis rightfully won the nomination?" asked Bedingfield. "I don't think we can imagine that world."
Watch the video below or at the link here:
Kate Bedingfield says Trump would sabotage DeSantis if he wins the nominationwww.youtube.com
