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?
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.
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.