THE SQUIZ
This has been on the cards for months, but Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is officially nominating to become the Republican nominee for the 2024 United States presidential race. The move puts him in direct competition with Donald Trump, who wants another crack at the White House. One last-minute surprise is that DeSantis will be making the announcement via a live Twitter broadcast with platform owner Elon Musk. Pundits say it hints at the kind of campaign DeSantis intends to run – one based on his brand of ‘anti-wokeness’ that has become the calling card of his time in politics. The broadcast is expected at 8am our (eastern) time this morning.

WHO’S THIS DESANTIS GUY?
Ron DeSantis is a Harvard Law grad and former Republican member of the US House of Reps who gained Trump’s endorsement in the race to become Florida’s Governor. That helped him win the 2018 election, and since then, he’s helped turn Florida into something of a right-wing cultural haven. Most notably, DeSantis was loudly anti-lockdown during the pandemic, but he’s also introduced restrictions on abortion, outlawed gender-transition care for minors, and expanded gun rights and the use of the death penalty. He’s also picked a fight with Disney, a huge employer in the state, over its support of the LGBTQI+ community. The Disney fight has recently become a bit of a thorn in DeSantis’s side, with the mouse company suing the Governor over his “retaliation”, calling him “anti-business”.

WHAT DOES TRUMP SAY?
Trump views DeSantis as disloyal for running against him, given (as the former president’s supporters would say) Trump made the Governor’s political career. “He’s got no personality. And I don’t think he’s got a lot of political skill,” Trump recently said… Adding injury to insult, DeSantis was polling well against Trump at the turn of the year, but in recent months the Disney scuffle and reluctance to engage with the media has taken the shine off DeSantis. Commentators say that left plenty of room for Trump to shine, even during his recent legal woes. A CNN poll published overnight had Trump the first choice with 53%, and DeSantis a distant second with 26%. But the great unknown of the Republican presidential nomination is Trump’s ongoing legal struggles, and possible imprisonment, with a trial date in his hush-money case set down for March 2024… right in the middle of the Republican voting calendar. Hold onto your hat…