I thought DeSantis was the clear "next after Trump" choice, but then he made the idiot decision to contest Trump for the 2024 nomination. All DeSantis had to do was stay out of the 2024 race, endorse Trump, and he would have been the 2028 landslide frontrunner with 100% of the Trump vote. Now DeSantis gets 0% of the Trump vote and has no chance of ever winning.

The RINOs were desperate for "not Trump 2024", and DeSantis was seen as having the best odds of beating him. They somehow got into his ear and made him commit political suicide in a near-hopeless attempt to beat Trump in 2024.