Many wonder if he’ll seek political vengeance against people he views as disloyal.

Ron DeSantis is out of the Republican presidential race. But in Florida, his second term as governor has only just gotten started.

As DeSantis returns to Tallahassee, the state capital is ablaze with speculation — and anxiety — about how the governor will wield power in the remaining almost-three years of his term. How will he seek to rebuild his stature in Florida after washing out at the national level? Will he lay the groundwork to run for president again?

And, most of all: Will he take political retribution against Republicans who he sees as having betrayed him in the presidential race?

  • Chainweasel@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Will he lay the groundwork to run for president again?

    Not if Trump wins he won’t.
    Does anyone seriously think we’ll ever have another election if Trump wins?
    Or even if there are sham “elections” does he really think anyone will be allowed to run against Trump?

    • Diplomjodler@feddit.de
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      10 months ago

      Donnieboy isn’t going to live forever, you know? In fact, he seems to be declining rapidly lately. So even if there’s no election there will be a vacancy for Supreme Leader at some point.

        • frezik@midwest.social
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          10 months ago

          Trump works because he’s able to churn up a base of support as a cult of personality. Those tend to fall apart as soon as the personality at the center dies or gets imprisoned. His adult children don’t have the capability of cultivating the base in the same way. Neither does anybody else in the GOP.

          • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            Once the infrastructure for dictatorship is in place, a the successors of a dictator don’t need much in the way of support. Particularly considering what tends to happen to prominent members of the opposition.

            • frezik@midwest.social
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              10 months ago

              North Korea is a huge exception. Most dictatorships do not last that long. It’s worth studying how they managed to pull that off.

              • Eldritch@lemmy.world
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                10 months ago

                No. It really isn’t. History is filled with hereditary succession. It’s not some outlier thing. It’s actually kind of been normal for most of human history.

                • frezik@midwest.social
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                  10 months ago

                  It’s filled with hereditary monarchies in a very stratified society. Modern dictatorships don’t arise out of a system like that. Many of them were originally fighting against exactly those systems.

                  • Eldritch@lemmy.world
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                    10 months ago

                    Hereditary rulers didn’t all rise from a stratified society. They created the strata. Prince, princess, Duke, duchess etc. Etc etc. The strata was always their family and friends. Strata like that would not exist without them.

                    History has been filled with usurpers to the throne. Who have then gone on to set up their own dynasties etc. it’s actually quite normal. And in the process they turned up the strata. Replacing it with people, loyal to them. Because the strata itself is meaningless and is just meant as a positive feedback mechanism.

            • Diplomjodler@feddit.de
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              10 months ago

              Kim Il Sung spent decades establishing his successor. And he had absolute power by then. Neither applies to Trump. What usually happens in these cases it’s that the potential successors are at each other’s throats. This often results in civil wars, like what we have in Libya and Sudan right now.

              • Eldritch@lemmy.world
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                10 months ago

                The Republican party has spent a century longing for and pursuing dictatorship. Trump doesn’t need to do any more prep .The party eagerly picks through his word salad, looking for a way to please him. They even had shirts made up showing familial succession.

                  • Eldritch@lemmy.world
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                    10 months ago

                    Democrats definitely will. Maybe not the leadership and not like they should. But the thing everyone has been conditioned to forget. Is that unlike the Republican party, the Democrat party isn’t significantly in any way a monolith. It’s a coalition party. Much to the displeasure of Democratic leadership. It’s the only reason I still have any hope for them.

    • frezik@midwest.social
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      10 months ago

      I think he’s too dumb to actually pull it off, but he’ll do a whole lot of damage in the attempt.