Ron DeSantis found his groove way too late

There was a moment when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis seemed like the Republican Party’s best bet to move on from Donald Trump. That moment — on election night in November 2022 and in the few weeks beyond it — passed quickly. Trump used the spring of 2023 to re-coagulate and recover his dominant position in the party, with a little help from Manhattan Dist. Atty. Alvin Bragg and Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith.

DeSantis hesitated, waiting 197 days after his massive reelection victory as Florida governor to launch his presidential campaign in May 2023. By then, Trump was back in business big time, using his numerous legal entanglements like the drivers in the “Fast and Furious” franchise use nitrous oxide.

During a CNN-produced town hall event Tuesday, DeSantis said, “If Donald Trump is the nominee, the election will revolve around all these legal issues, his trials, perhaps convictions if he goes to trials and loses there, and about things like Jan. 6.”