Last week, before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) launched his presidential campaign, news broke that over 150 former Trump officials calling themselves the “Eight-Year Alliance” would be supporting the governor’s efforts to win the 2024 GOP nomination.
The alliance’s name highlights a formidable strategic and constitutional advantage DeSantis holds over former President Donald Trump, who would be immediately become a “lame-duck” president if reelected. The 22nd Constitutional Amendment states, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”
Trump has yet to acknowledge this problem. And DeSantis, an underdog both nationally and in the early states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, has barely lifted a finger to take advantage of it.
For the sake of long-term positioning, DeSantis needs to condense his eight-year vision for America into a bumper sticker-like message like “DeSantis equals eight,” to educate primary voters about why nominating Trump, with his four-year limitation, would put Republicans at a long-term disadvantage.
So far, communication with voters has not been the Florida governor’s strong suit. In his underwhelming announcement video following his Twitter Space debacle, the “Culture Warrior” governor said, “Righting the ship requires restoring sanity to our society, normalcy to our communities, and integrity to our institutions. Truth must be our foundation, and common sense can no longer be an uncommon virtue.”
Such quotations sound like they were written for a marble wall at his future presidential library, but they hardly move Republican crowds, who much prefer Trump’s lengthy stories and rants from the stump. DeSantis, a Yale and Harvard graduate, might have a much better vocabulary than Trump, but Republican voters would rather listen to the former president hoot and holler about economic populism, victimhood and grievances.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich observed this after DeSantis’s announcement. “One of Trump’s great advantages is that he talks at a level where third, fourth, and fifth-grade educations can say, ‘Oh yeah, I get that. I understand it,’” he said.
At the end of his announcement video, DeSantis said, “I am running to lead our great American comeback.” Trump, meanwhile, is running to “Make America Great Again,” again. So their slogans offer a distinction without a difference.
But taking a cue from Gingrich, DeSantis should tweak his own slogan to provide a meaningful contrast: “I am running to lead our great American comeback — for eight years.” This would both unnerve Trump and reassure his base that this is not the end of “Trumpism.”
DeSantis has enough disadvantages right now. He must therefore exploit whatever substantial advantages he has over Trump, one of which is his potential to serve up to a full eight years in office fighting woke culture and leading a “great American comeback” with the vim and vigor of a man who will be 46 years old on Election Day.
And DeSantis, in contrast with the septuagenarian Trump, is not under indictment, has never lost an election and is generally better equipped to defeat President Joe Biden, who will be 82 years old next November.
Of the last 59 U.S. presidential elections, 33 involved incumbents, 22 of whom won reelection. DeSantis can point out, if he dares, that Trump is in the unsuccessful minority, having broken the winning streak of two-term Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Thus, DeSantis can position himself as the only candidate with the skills, smarts, track record and vision to lead America for eight years — unique because his chief primary opponent cannot do so by law.
Speaking of law, DeSantis would do well to ask Trump if the former president will abide by the constitutional amendment limiting him to two terms. Imagine if Trump gave his familiar non-answer, “We will see what happens.” Or if he gives an incorrect answer, perhaps, about the 22nd Amendment applying only to consecutive terms.
Given Trump’s demonstrated problem with relinquishing power, he has little choice but to acknowledge that “When re-elected, I can only serve one term.” Anything else would feed into Biden’s narrative that “Trump and MAGA Republicans are a threat to democracy.” Furthermore, if Trump refuses to address his 22nd Amendment problem without qualifications, Democrats and Republicans will be right to ask what other amendments or laws Trump would trample if reelected.
Also, take note of Trump’s remarks to donors in 2018 after “Chinese President Xi Jinping had recently consolidated power. “He’s now president for life,” Trump said. “President for life….I think it’s great. Maybe we’ll give that a shot someday.’” Will it be “someday if Trump is reelected in 2024?” Does Trump perceive relinquishing power as a sign of weakness?
How DeSantis reacts if Trump equivocates about his lame-duck status will show that DeSantis cares more or less about the Constitution than about winning support from Trump’s die-hard base, estimated at between 35 percent and 38 percent of GOP primary voters.
Trump can, of course, minimize the lame-duck issue. “I can only serve one term,” he could say, “but I will cram eight years of ‘making America great again’ into four years.”
Even then, DeSantis can still make a strong case that he is the future of the Republican Party and the nation — for as many as eight years, ending Jan. 20, 2032.
Myra Adams (@MyraKAdams) served on the creative team of two Republican presidential campaigns in 2004 and 2008. She writes about politics and religion.
Cross-posted at The Hill and Substack.
