Ron DeSantis must be desperate to get out of Florida before his term-limited time as governor expires in two years.
That’s the only explanation that makes sense in figuring out why DeSantis is said to be in talks with Trump to be Secretary of Defense in the upcoming Trump Administration.
DeSantis is one tiny package of oversized ambition, and some might argue that taking a cabinet position under Trump would elevate his profile for his next run to be president — DeSantis’ ultimate golden ring.
But when was the last time you heard of the Secretary of Defense being a launchpad to the presidency?
If you go back to the Truman Administration’s James Forrestal, there have been 28 secretaries of defense, and none of them made it to the presidency, and only one, (Dick Cheney), got as far as vice president.
The two defense secretaries under Trump — James Mattis and Mark Esper — were thoroughly ground to a pulp by being downstream of Trump’s delusion that he was always the smartest guy in the room.
Working under Trump is a bad job because he doesn’t imagine that you serve any purpose other than to glorify him.
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Trump doesn’t take on underlings to be collaborators. He’s looking for toadies to agree with whatever his position happens to be that day, and DeSantis would be wise to steer clear of squeezing into that clown car.
Instead, the guy Trump called “Ron DeSanctimonious” should be biding his time — like Nikki Haley — and staying out of the splash zone of the next Trump administration. Somebody untainted by Trump is going to have to pick up the pieces of what’s left of the Republican party after Trump thrashes it with his dictator ambitions and then ages out of the White House.
And that somebody could be DeSantis.
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis during a press conference Oct 30, 2024 in West Palm Beach.
But not if he accepts the appointment to Trump’s cabinet, which is a surefire way to miniaturize his political future.
For starters, he’ll have to do something gross as a prerequisite to the nomination, such as appointing Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump to fill Marco Rubio’s vacancy in the U.S. Senate.
And then once DeSantis is installed, he’ll be dreading that call when Trump orders him to deploy the U.S. military to shoot American protesters or to launch a war-crime-ladened invasion of Mexico.
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Whether he obeys or not, DeSantis would be screwed. If history is a guide, he’ll be doomed to a future trying to explain to historians through an artfully edited memoir why he wasn’t as bad as the others in the administration.
Also, I can’t imagine that America will ever celebrate or forgive a me-firster like DeSantis. Or find anything presidential in waging a silly battle over diversity in the military, and posturing to deliver what is already the most lethal and highly trained fighting force in the world from its “wokeness” — whatever that is.
No, DeSantis’ best course of action would be to ride out his remaining time as Florida’s governor, bragging all the way, while keeping a safe distance from the Trump follies.
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But instead of standing in the wings, waiting for America to regain its senses, DeSantis is tempted to step through Trump’s one-way door that once and for all, will irrevocably deflower DeSantis of his political virginity.
If he does, he’ll no longer be Ron DeSantis. He’ll be Ron “of Trump.”
Frank Cerabino is a news columnist with The Palm Beach Post, part of the Gannett Newspapers chain.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Ron DeSantis joining Donald Trump’s cabinet will not end well
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