There is a scenario in which Gov Ron DeSantis would applaud the prosecution of former President Donald Trump — but only if Mr Trump were to do a “traditional crime” like “robbing a bank.”
“Look, nobody is above the law,” Mr DeSantis said in an appearance on Newsmax.
“If Donald Trump or any big political person gets caught robbing a bank or doing things that we know are traditional crimes that people get prosecuted for every day, that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. But when you try to shove conduct into some of these more opaque statutes, and you’re running with that, given the politicisation of the Garland Justice Department, you’re going to have a lot of people who look at that and wince.”
Mr DeSantis is, apparently, one of these people. The Florida governor has criticised the investigations into and prosecutions of Mr Trump for allegedly participating in a hush money payment scheme, mishandling classified documents and attempting to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election on much the same grounds that the former president has: that the investigations are political in nature, designed to stop Mr Trump at the ballot box next year.
A majority of Americans seem to agree with Mr DeSantis’ analysis regarding Mr Trump’s indictment over the hush money payment scheme, though a majority also believes the indictment was justified.
But Mr DeSantis is also trying to stop Mr Trump at the ballot box as he campaigns for the Republican nomination for president, stepping up his attacks on the former president in recent weeks while still attempting not to alienate his voters by supporting the criminal investigations into his conduct.
So far, it appears Mr DeSantis is struggling to successfully thread the needle. After being touted for the better part of a year as a top rival to Mr Trump’s for the nomination, Mr DeSantis recently laid off staff members amid a reported financial crunch and relatively low poll numbers.
When Mr DeSantis’ camapign has seen fit to attack Mr Trump, he’s largely attacked him from the right on issues like LGBT+ rights — adopting stances in line with the aggressive, hard right policies he’s favoured as governor of Florida. He’s also said he would clean house at the Justice Department, replacing figures like the FBI director and attorney general.
But whatever Mr DeSantis thinks of the Justice Department as it’s currently run, Mr Trump has a number of very real legal problems on his hands. Already federally indicted over his handling of classified documents, he could also be indicted over his role in the January 6 insurrection attempt in the coming days.
