Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed former president Donald Trump. Glenn explains why he believes this was a good move. Plus, he asks Trump to do one thing: "Consider Ron DeSantis as your Attorney General." If he announces this soon, Glenn believes it would give Trump "huge momentum."
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: So looks like Ron DeSantis is out. Kind of a surprising move, don't you think?
STU: A little bit. Just because, you think, if he's going to do this, why not after Iowa?
Why wait?
I guess that's the line.
GLENN: And you could say, because they're arguing back and forth. And deciding what to do. But this was my advice. What was it?
Thursday or Friday. My advice was, he should drop out now. Do no more damage to his name.
You don't want to look like you lost over and over and over again.
Get out now. Stop the damage on the reputation.
And I'm torn on that, because I'm not sure what's going to happen with Donald Trump.
I mean, you could make a case that he's going to go to jail. You could make the case, that he's going to hang himself with paper sheets.
I mean, God only knows what these people are willing to do to stop him from being president of the United States.
And I -- I would like to have somebody, that -- that has delegates that can broker at the convention.
Now, here's what I really would like to say, today. About Ron DeSantis. And that is.
47.
Mr. President, listen carefully.
Please, will you consider Ron DeSantis, as your attorney general?
I think he will do more food as attorney general even, than he would as your vice president.
Make him, and, Ron, please, if it's offered. Please, take it.
Ron DeSantis has law experience, up the wazoo. He's a proven fighter.
He knows the Deep State. If there's anyone who could go in, and clean up the Justice Department. And then start cleaning up all of the -- the nightmares, and return justice, back to the Justice Department. I think it's Ron DeSantis. And I think if -- if he would accept that, and Donald Trump would announce that now, you would have huge momentum, with Ron DeSantis voters.
You would also have it with Trump voters.
And I think you begin. I think Donald Trump should start announcing his team.
And perhaps, the least important one is vice president. Maybe that's me.
GLENN: That's interesting.
He would be very good at that, I think. That's an interesting fit.
A lot of people are like, oh, well. He said a lot of bad things -- the fact that, not only he dropped out.
The key part of this. He also endorsed Donald Trump. There were people who were like, maybe he'll endorse Nikki Haley, which was never going to happen. But he could have done what Chris Christie did.
Right? Where you drop out.
You don't say anything about an endorsement. And then I guess you have 14 hamburgers, or whatever Christie did after he dropped out.
But you could have done that. And, you know, that would have been a plausible thing for him to do.
But he just went ahead and admitted what I think everybody knew for a long time. That Donald Trump is a -- is probably the person who will win this.
And why not get on board now?
GLENN: Yeah. Can we just -- can we stop with this analyzing, and reanalyzing Ron DeSantis? And what did his team do wrong?
You know, there's many things you can point out. But biggest thing you can point out is, Donald Trump once he was indicted, that race was over.
It didn't matter how -- it didn't matter if he had the dream team behind him.
Or if he had the Keystone Cops behind him.
Rob DeSantis didn't have a chance to win, as soon as Donald Trump was indicted.
The mood of the country and the voter, changed. And people began to see Donald Trump for really, who he is.
He's kind of like us. If they'll do that to him, they'll do it to us. So he's kind of fighting for him and us, at the same time. They see him as a man who has been wronged. Who could have given up.
And is now on the verge of losing absolutely everything. Everything.
And yet, what?
We're going to go for somebody else?
No. At this time, the American people, a majority of Republican voters see that, as something, that they feel they should support. Because he's the guy supporting them.
And fighting the same fight, that they're going to have to fight.
So Ron didn't have a chance.
STU: I'm glad you brought that up.
Every single piece of analysis that I've been seeing and reading has been talking about the DeSantis campaign problems.
And, look, there were some.
Like do you want infighting at your super PAC?
No, you choose not to have that, if you have the choice.
However, if you think, well, if everybody at the super PAC were really good friends, he would have won in Iowa.
I mean, that's just -- what are you talking about?
Like -- it's like everyone is analyzing the 20 percent of the problem. When the 80 percent of the problem is being left unstated. Eighty percent of the problem is that Donald Trump is a very unique figure. That has a lock on a lot of the voters in the party, who has a lock on even more of them.
And an insurmountable amount, when he got indicted. And the sort of conservative mind. You know, the Jonathan Haidt, going to that analysis of how conservatives think. Loyalty is a really big part of that. Fairness is a really big part of that.
And a lot of people think, look, Donald Trump deserves another chance here. I don't know that is ever going to be overcome.
PAT: Because I've heard this from some people who even liked Donald Trump big Trump supporters.
And it's like, okay.
Well, Ron DeSantis shouldn't have done this. He shouldn't have said this.
If his online supporters did this or that, or whatever.
And I get all that. And you can criticize some of that stuff fairly. But at the end of the day, if Ron DeSantis ran a perfect campaign, was he going to beat your guy?
And not a single guy would say yes. They would all say, of course not!
And they're right most likely.
I don't know that a perfect campaign could have won in this particular circumstance.
GLENN: No.
STU: It's like arguing the best album of all time is from Beyonce, and you're talking to an audience that's 70 percent Swiftie. It doesn't matter how good Beyonce's album is, you're never going to win that argument.
GLENN: Look, here's the thing. No matter what he did. You know, Ron DeSantis had good numbers. Before the indictment.
And when we were just looking at candidates. But what the Democrats did, right or wrong. I mean, it's definitely wrong. But strategy-wise, right or wrong, I don't know.
Because I don't know what their real thought was, on why to indict him, for 7 billion years of prison time.
But once they did that, all bets were off. And Donald Trump has something else.
And I'm not saying Ron DeSantis doesn't have this. Or anybody that was running, doesn't have this.
But this was in real question right now, from most people.
Does this politician even like America.
Do they like America?
Donald Trump, the one thing you cannot question is: He loves America.
Loves it.
And that is kind of -- it's strangely kind of a baseline.
You have to have that stone, put into your foundation.
And it has to be rock solid.
And the one thing about Donald Trump is: You know he loves America.
And that's want to slight anybody else. It is to slight some of the Democrats.
But it's not to slight, anybody else that was running. It's just so very clear. That Donald Trump is sincere in his love for America.
And I think that goes a very long way.
STU: I think so too.
And look, people believe that he is going to be the guy. I mean, a lot of this is, you look to a person, who is -- has done the job already.
He's basically an incumbent to the Republicans. Right?
This is -- already those advantages are built-in. He has an incredibly prominent profile. One of the most famous outside of maybe Taylor Swift.
Probably the most famous person in the world.
And he's a guy that people are lining up behind.
Because most of the voters in the Republican voting populace, believe he's being targeted and wronged. In a major way. And the fact that they're want only trying to take away his presidency. His legacy.
His future prospects. But also his life. They want to take his life, and throw it into prison.
GLENN: I think even. I think we're approaching a new time. Where we could go further than that. I hate to say that. And I don't want to assign that to anyone.
I'm not saying that it's the Democrats or anyone else.
But I do think there are those who hate Donald Trump so much. And are sick.
They're absolutely sick. And that wouldn't mind, ending his life. Unfortunately.
STU: That's a dark place, I don't want to go to.
And I know you don't as well.
The question becomes. Number up, Nikki Haley has a chance to play out the string here.
She has a chance to be competitive, and win over New Hampshire.
The polls aren't particularly optimistic on that fact. But she will get a decent percentage in that state.
And, you know, have a chance to move on to South Carolina. It's her home state. She deserves the chance to play out the string. I don't want to act like it's completely over.
But, you know, for all intents and purposes, it probably is.
We talked about that tier one, tier two primary. Right?
The tier one is the normal campaign. The normal way things play out. Everyone competes to win.
That one, to me, is largely over.
You still have tier two, though, which is what happens to Donald Trump. And what happens after, if they throw him in prison. And who knows on that one. What's interesting about Haley, there's really no reason to drop out, right?
I don't know. Maybe I'm not going to see this the same way she had. But if you're here. Why not keep your campaign alive, and keep these delegates coming in at 25 and 30 percent. She will probably get 25, 30 percent in most of these states. She'll be able to bag delegates, and if something happens to Donald Trump --
GLENN: You have a say.
STU: You have a say. And I don't know what the downside is. And this leaves only Ryan Binkley left, Glenn.
And if I -- I have thought about this. I have not been able to figure out a way to do it. But if I can figure out a way to right now bet on Ryan Binkley being second place in the delegate count, I would do it. Because the most likely thing that happens here, Haley drops out. He's the only one left.
And he just -- if you don't know who he is, he is running for president on the Republican side.
GLENN: That really doesn't help me, knowing who he is. That's what he's doing currently.
I still have no idea who Binkley is.
STU: He's a Dallas businessman and pastor, and has been running the whole time.
Again, I don't think there's any reason for him to drop out.
Whoever isn't Donald Trump, is going to get some delegates here.
Haley, you would think would be -- well, why not me? I can stick around. If this thing falls apart at the top, which is possible. Again, we keep talking about how serious these threats are for Donald Trump.
It's not impossible that some of these legal threats wind up working out in a way that -- you know, we all know.
We're going in the Supreme Court, with him being on the ballot or not. My complete belief, is that the Supreme Court would be correct on that. And placed on the ballot in these states. But it's not impossible.
And if these things go the wrong way for Donald Trump. There has to be somebody there.
What might happen, the party comes together, and they just do something. And that's ugly.
If you're Nikki Haley, you have a bunch of delegates. You at least have an argument at that table.
When we're talking about leadership of the free world here, you know, I don't know.
What part of her reputation is she really going to protect by dropping out?
