Ron DeSantis is facing mounting doubts about the strategy behind his 2024 White House bid after veering sharply to the right on issues ranging from gay rights to abortion and immigration in an effort to outflank Donald Trump.
The Florida governor’s campaign for the Republican presidential nomination has been stuttering since its launch in late May, with Trump consolidating his double-digit lead in national polling and DeSantis failing to make up any ground.
DeSantis appears to be further damaging his White House ambitions by embracing hardline positions and rhetoric that are in some cases even more radical than Trump’s. That posturing is generating a broad backlash without giving him any additional edge with Republican primary voters.