ORLANDO, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis comes out of the weekend’s Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando boosted by a higher profile as the governor of a state he called “an oasis of freedom” from COVID-19 restrictions.
But CPAC also highlighted the biggest obstacle in his potential path to a GOP presidential nomination three years from now: his own political mentor, former President Donald Trump.
“He freezes everybody, including DeSantis,” said Mac Stipanovich, a former Republican consultant in Tallahassee turned anti-Trump independent. “But at the same time, (DeSantis) can continue to position himself, as he has done with some success, as the second choice — believing that Trump will not run, and that he’ll thereby become the first choice.”