DeSantis’ Approach To Trump II: Getting Humiliated

Last updated: 2024/12/11 at 9:00 AM

The Wall Street Journal has new reporting out this week confirming that Donald Trump has, in fact, spoken to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis about his desire for his daughter-in-law to become the next senator from Florida.

It’s been speculated that Trump may try to pressure DeSantis to appoint Lara Trump as the senator to replace Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) should he be confirmed as secretary of state — and there’s no reason to believe he won’t be. Trump has reportedly touched base with DeSantis and put in “a good word,” in the WSJ’s words, about Lara Trump’s fitness for the position.

While DeSantis is reportedly considering close aides and the Florida attorney general for the gig as well, it may be a question of when, not if, he selects the incoming president’s daughter-in-law. Some of DeSantis’ allies told the WSJ that they believe the governor selecting Lara Trump would help DeSantis make amends with Trump — for the mistake of running against him in the primaries. One person close to Trump told the Journal that “the idea has gone from a fanciful ‘wouldn’t that be interesting’ sentiment to a distinct possibility,” in WSJ’s words.

And Lara Trump is already upping the public campaign to signal her interest in the seat, which whoever is appointed would hold until a special election was held in 2026. Earlier this week, she stepped down as the co-chair of the Republican National Committee, a mantel she took up shortly after Trump became the party’s official nominee and the RNC was cleared out and restocked with Trump loyalists.

“I would say that my track record speaks for itself. Maybe having the last name Trump is just a little bit extra. I’m always happy to have it,” Lara Trump said on Fox News over the weekend.

The decision is ultimately up to DeSantis, who has said he will reach a conclusion by early January. But it is clear the Trump family is expecting him to roll over and make the right, nepotistic call.

It’s part of a pattern of public bullying and humiliation that DeSantis has allowed himself to be subjected to ever since he tried to break with Trump — who claims credit for DeSantis’ political relevance in Florida — and run against him in the primaries. Just last week, when it appeared that Trump’s pick for defense secretary Pete Hegseth might have too much baggage — reports of sexual assault and alcohol abuse — to get confirmed by the Senate, there were reports that Trump was in talks with DeSantis about the nomination.

But that layer of the news cycle all but disappeared after a weekend in which at least one crucial Senate Republican, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), found herself affirming her support for Hegseth and reviving his confirmation prospects at the risk of being primaried.