Ron DeSantis continues to be frustrated by Donald Trump’s unwillingness to debate the rest of the 2024 Republican field.
To that end, the Florida Governor vented to NBC after Wednesday’s candidate clash in Miami, saying the 45th President is having a lot more trouble in his third bid for the White House than Ronald Reagan would have had if he’d run in 1988 for a third term, which would have not been permitted due to the 22nd Amendment.
Asked by interviewer Hallie Jackson about the most recent Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll of the race, which shows DeSantis down by nearly 30 points, the Florida Governor suggested that he’d be doing even worse against Reagan (who would be presenting himself to Republican voters for a fourth consecutive election cycle, given that that former President ran unsuccessfully in 1976 as well).
“He’s at 42%. He’s the most famous former elected official in the world, the former Republican President, he’s at 40%,” DeSantis said.
“If Ronald Reagan ran in like ’88. Ronald Reagan would be getting 85 or 90%,” DeSantis suggested.
While there’s no way to test DeSantis’ theory, it’s worth noting that Reagan faced no real competition in 1984, when former Minnesota Gov. Harold Stassen was the only thing approaching intraparty competition that year.
In 1988, one could argue that Iowa Republicans were moving away from the Reagan administration, given that U.S. Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas won the Iowa caucuses with 37% support, finishing ahead of tele-evangelist Pat Robertson and Reagan’s Vice President, George H.W. Bush.
In 1980, Bush actually bested Reagan in the caucuses, with 32% support to 29% for the former California Governor and mid-century film actor.
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