Left-wing California Gov. Gavin Newsom has some advice for Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis about the 2024 presidential election, and while Newsom’s motives are always suspect, he might have a point.
Appearing on MSNBC this week with former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki, Newsom — who was once thought to be ready to run for the White House next year himself — had a prediction about how well DeSantis would do against Donald Trump in a potential Republican primary.
“He’s going to get rolled by Trump. Trump’s just going to roll him,” Newsom said. “Thumped.”
“Honestly, if I were offering him political advice, I’d tell him to pack up and wait a few years,” he added.
Newsom said DeSantis should skip 2024 and “come back as a more seasoned and capable leader with a little humility.”
Trending:
[embedded content]
Newsom has a point. While the 2024 election is still a long way off and anything can happen, DeSantis — who hasn’t even formally announced yet — would have an extremely steep uphill climb.
Granted, Newsom has set himself up as DeSantis’ chief rival; earlier in the MSNBC interview he described him as a weak bully. It is certainly in Newsom’s interests to cast the Florida governor as a weak player on the national stage. (Could he even be gunning for a Newsom v. DeSantis 2028 race?)
Still, his advice for DeSantis may be sound. Most of the latest polls show Trump with a commanding lead over other likely GOP candidates.
On Wednesday, lefty pollster FiveThirtyEight found that Trump leads DeSantis by 23 points. An April 3 Reuters/Ipsos poll gave Trump a 29-point lead. Meanwhile, the Trafalgar Group, a conservative pollster, gives DeSantis a bit more standing but still has him 11 points behind Trump.
Will Trump win the 2024 Republican primary?
Yes: 93% (51 Votes)
No: 7% (4 Votes)
Those are some pretty stiff numbers for DeSantis to overcome. However, we still have yet to see how the crooked Manhattan DA’s indictment of Trump might affect the former president’s numbers.
Finally, many feel that the Democrats are hyping Trump as much as possible because they think he is the weakest of all the GOP hopefuls and that Joe Biden can easily beat him a second time come November of next year. Indeed, some polls do show Biden beating Trump in a 2020 rematch.
On the other hand, Trump has been underestimated before. And while it is far too early to draw any conclusions about the 2024 race, it is interesting to hear what Newsom thinks — or says he thinks — about the Republican primary.
