I think the biggest difference is that DeSantis is seen as genuine and Trump isn’t. There were a lot of groups that had to swallow their pride to vote for Trump. He’s not religious, he gets caught in constant lies, he’s not a family man, etc. All his faults were acceptable when his promises to break the system and “drain the swamp” were still just promises, but after 4 years of him accomplishing nothing in that realm and generally being bad at the job, people are a little more aware. He’s also a loser now, whereas DeSantis is still a winner.
DeSantis might be “Trump lite” but he also might be a version of Trump that is more than just bluster and trolling, which is going to be very appealing to a lot of people.
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