“Why Ron DeSantis Won’t Replace Trump: Understanding the True Nature of Populism”
In recent years, populism has gained significant traction as a political force, with figures like Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis leading the charge. However, while both individuals may appear to be cut from the same cloth at first glance, a closer look reveals a fundamental difference between them: Trump understands the emotional and spiritual needs of his supporters, while DeSantis prioritizes administrative competence and executive control. In this article, we will explore the nuances of populism and its implications for the future of American politics.
The Emotional Appeal of Populism
At its core, populism is a movement that seeks to represent the interests of ordinary people against the elite. But as Janan Ganesh argues in his piece for the Financial Times, it is more than that. Populism also offers a sense of belonging and identity to those who feel left behind by the rapid pace of change in modern society. Trump understood this better than anyone, crafting a narrative that spoke to the fears and hopes of his supporters and providing them with a sense of community in a fractured world.
In contrast, DeSantis views politics as a technical problem to be solved. He believes that administrative competence and executive control are paramount, and that the right policies will naturally follow from these principles. This approach may be appealing to policy wonks and technocrats, but it misses the deeper emotional appeal of populism.
The Limits of Administrative Competence
DeSantis’s approach to politics is rooted in the belief that culture is downstream from politics, and that conservatives must focus on reclaiming institutions in order to shape the broader cultural landscape. He has been successful in this regard, making significant gains in education and other areas while in office. However, this approach is unlikely to resonate with ordinary people who are looking for something more than just policy wins.
Furthermore, DeSantis’s emphasis on administrative competence rings hollow in the face of Trump’s repeated failures on the policy front. Despite his numerous missteps, Trump remains a beloved figure among his supporters because he understands the emotional needs of his base. They value his rhetoric and his vision more than they do his actual policy outcomes.
The Importance of Group Identity
Another key element of populism is group identity. Populist movements often center around a charismatic leader who galvanizes support by emphasizing the differences between “us” and “them.” For Trump, this meant fanning the flames of resentment and anger towards immigrants, the media, and other enemies of his movement. DeSantis, on the other hand, has thus far avoided the kind of rhetoric that would rile up his supporters in the same way.
However, as Ganesh points out, group identity can be just as powerful in defeat as it is in victory. The sense of solidarity and belonging that comes from being part of a group fighting for a shared cause can be deeply fulfilling, even if the ultimate goal is never achieved. Trump’s supporters may be battered and bruised after the last few years, but they remain fiercely loyal to their leader and the cause he represents.
The Limits of Political Branding
Finally, it is worth noting that DeSantis’s background and style are unlikely to endear him to Trump’s base. He is a successful politician with a record of accomplishments, but he lacks the kind of bold, brash persona that Trump embodies. He may appeal to more traditional Republicans who are looking for a steady hand at the helm, but he is unlikely to sway the die-hard Trump supporters who make up the bulk of the party’s base.
Conclusion: Populism Is Here to Stay
In conclusion, it is clear that populism is a force to be reckoned with in American politics. However, we should not make the mistake of assuming that all populist leaders are the same. Trump’s success was rooted in his ability to tap into the emotional and spiritual needs of his supporters, something that DeSantis has yet to fully grasp. While administrative competence and executive control are important qualities for any politician, they are not enough to win over the hearts and minds of ordinary people who are looking for a sense of belonging and identity in an uncertain world.
Summary
In this article, we explored the differences between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis as populist leaders. While both men are associated with the populist movement, Trump’s success was rooted in his ability to understand the emotional and spiritual needs of his supporters, while DeSantis prioritizes administrative competence and executive control. Understanding the nuances of populism is essential for understanding the trajectory of American politics, and we should not make the mistake of assuming that all populist leaders are the same. Ultimately, populism is a force that is here to stay, and it will continue to shape the political landscape in the years to come.
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Consider for a moment what Donald Trump gives to his average supporter. Membership in a vast national communion of like-minded people. A father figure in a confusing world. The chill of transgression: middle-aged whites don’t often play the rebel in life.
On top of all this, what’s the fringe benefit of seeing him win an actual election? What is, after that, the marginal benefit of seeing your policies go into effect? No doubt Trump fans would rather have these bonus items than not. But he has done them a deep emotional and almost spiritual service before it came to that.
It’s not clear that Ron DeSantis understands this about populism. Until he does, he won’t. displace trump As the leader of the movement in the US The Governor of Florida trades on his eligibility and administrative competence. But if any of these things were paramount to voters in the Republican primary, the race would already be over.
Trump lost the midterm elections in 2018. He lost the presidential election in 2020. He is the only president in the 80-year history of the Gallup Approval Rating Poll never to score 50 percent. The Republican candidates who bear his stamp have, at best, a mixed electoral record. Even allowing for the widespread and false belief that he was ousted from a second term, there must be plenty of Trump fans who know, deep down, that DeSantis or Nikki Haley would do better with the national electorate in 2024. Never mind. Nor does it give them the sense of tribal belonging that he does. He doesn’t bother liberals that much either.
The governor’s other boast, his executive control, matters even less. Just because liberals have always feared the emergence of a competent demagogue doesn’t mean populist voters have longed for one to the same extent. How much of his base did Trump lose after failing to build that wall on the Mexican border? How much of that has gone to Joe Biden as thanks for passing the biggest protectionist bill in living memory?
DeSantis is logical, poor man. He thinks modern politics is about doing things. The extent to which it is about belonging, about replacing the group identity that people once got from a church or a union, is lost in their rationalist understanding. In this sense, he thinks like a liberal. The left is always trying to “answer” populist concerns by reorienting industrial jobs or returning power. It’s very sweet, this. And yes, perhaps in the beginning, populism was about tangible grievances. But once people took sides, around 2016, that group membership started to mean more to them. (As in a long-lasting war whose original cause is lost between the belligerents). Trump perceives this more clearly than his rivals.
DeSantis believes that politics is downstream of culture, that culture is shaped in institutions, that conservatives have ceded those institutions to the organized left. Tallahassee’s Gramsci doesn’t just diagnose the problem. He is creative and obstinate in installing a right-wing counter-hegemony. Ask Disney. Just ask Florida’s educational bureaucracies.
This is more thought and work than Trump has ever put into the cause. It is also perfectly out of place. I am no longer sure that populist voters want to win the culture war. Just being in it gives them meaning. In any case, there is more group identity in defeat, more solidarity under siege than in victory. If I’m not mistaken, none of the governor’s arguments against Trump—his electoral revulsion at him, his boredom with the details—are half as stinging as he expects.
DeSantis is a case study in the theory of vibrations of politics. It doesn’t matter that he is a sincere and effective populist. He “presents” as a creature of the establishment. He’s got something to do with the Ivy League and navy past, the grim style of speech, the seeming straightness (no sexual or financial scandals), and the lack of visual hook in all that neat hair and understated tailoring. Even his record as the leader of a great state works against him. No populist worth his salt would be reading his writing and promulgating ideas with such bureaucratic patience. “Neeeerrrrd,” you can imagine Trump yelling at him, Homer Simpson-style, in a television debate studio.
So a strident right-winger, from a much humbler background than Trump, is framed as the last scion of the Bush clan. He can console himself with the thought that he is in illustrious company. Rishi Sunak defended Brexit before Boris Johnson. He subsidized people to dine out during a viral pandemic for which there was no vaccine. His reputation of him among populists? Company man.
https://www.ft.com/content/f0cf9c81-a9df-44c6-b702-1b13120d5a05
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