Mulling the DeSantis exit reported below, I'm thinking about the dilemma facing anyone running against Trump except Chris Christie. His main motivation appears to have been "vendetta," at which he failed.
I read something clever this morning that caught my attention and I'd like to share it, but now I can't find the source. I take no credit for the following insight: people interviewing Trump feel less like they are posing questions and more like they are feeding him straight lines.
Trump's candidacy is sort of 50-50, half politics and half show biz. Many of those who like him are fans in the show biz sense, making their transfer to another "performer" quite iffy.
I ask myself, if Taylor Swift were to suddenly disappear, would her legion of fans immediately turn and go to a Beyonce concert. I don't think so.
There would be a period of mourning and then they would do the emotional equivalent of "milling about" until their fancy was caught by a new idol. Or they outgrew the need for fandom.
DeSantis, Haley, and Ramaswamy knew they couldn't win without the votes of Trump fans. Nobody has figured out how to pry those loose from The Donald.
