Ron DeSantis faces Republican criticism from all sides

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, faces growing scrutiny and criticism from various factions of the GOP as he is widely believed to be readying a bid for his party’s 2024 presidential nomination.

DeSantis drew significant praise from conservatives after winning reelection in Florida by nearly 19 percentage points in the 2022 midterm election, while a number of high-profile candidates backed by former President Donald Trump failed to win in key swing states. The GOP governor was seen by many analysts to be buoyed by his opposition to COVID-19 lockdowns as well as other pandemic-related mandates.

Some polls briefly showed DeSantis as the possible frontrunner for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination, with most showing him making substantial gains on Trump—if not surpassing him—after the midterms. However, things appear to have turned in recent weeks, with Trump once again dominating 2024 polls of the GOP field. Meanwhile, DeSantis, who has not yet announced a presidential campaign, faces a slew of criticism from Republicans on multiple fronts.

Abortion Ban Fallout

Speaking to CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday, Representative Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican who has positioned herself as a moderate, took issue with the Florida governor’s decision to sign a six-week abortion ban in mid-April. Mace made a point of noting that DeSantis signed the Florida legislation “in the dead of night.”

“Signing a six-week ban that puts women who are victims of rape and girls who are victims of incest in a hard spot isn’t the way to change hearts and minds,” Mace told Face the Nation. “The requirements he has for rape victims are too much, not something that I support. It’s a non-starter.”

The relatively moderate congresswoman, who regularly touts winning in a “purple” district, warned that DeSantis could be hurt politically because of the abortion ban. “It puts him in a very difficult position for a general election, in my opinion,” she said.

Ann Coulter, a right-wing pundit, previously warned that DeSantis’ decision to sign the six-week abortion ban was a “total disaster” and a “huge mistake.”

The bill, SB 300 or the “Heartbeat Protection Act,” does contain some exceptions however. In the case of rape or incest, an abortion is permitted up to 15 weeks if the woman can provide documentation such as a restraining order or a police report. According to NBC News, the new bill doesn’t change existing exemptions for life and the health of the mother up to 15 weeks.

Pro-business Conservatives Upset

Meanwhile, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, a more traditionally conservative pro-business Republican who announced his bid for the GOP’s 2024 nomination at the beginning of April, took issue with DeSantis’ ongoing feud with Disney during a Sunday interview with CNN‘s State of the Union.

Disney last year publicly criticized DeSantis’ so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law that limited teachers ability to discuss issues related to gender and sexuality in the classroom with young students. Florida Republicans recently expanded the law to apply to all students through 12th grade.

In response to Disney’s criticism, DeSantis has targeted the company—which is Florida’s largest private employer—and sought to remove special advantages the company has enjoyed for decades.

“I don’t like what Disney said about the legislation that I would have supported in Florida, but it’s not the role of government to punish a business when you disagree with what they’re saying or a position that they take,” Hutchinson said Sunday. “If that was the view of a Republican, then we’re going to be in all kinds of trouble in our businesses in blue states if they start punishing businesses for taking a more conservative speech or position. I don’t understand a conservative punishing a business that’s the largest employer in the state.”

A number of other more traditional conservatives have taken a similar position to Hutchinson, with some urging DeSantis to end his feud with Disney.

“Why wouldn’t you sit down and negotiate and talk?” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, told CNBC’s Squawk Box on Thursday. “If there’s differences, you can always find ways that you can solve this problem. If you think that the only action is to go to court, I believe that’s wrong.”

The House speaker continued: “This is a big employer inside Florida. I think the governor should sit down with them. I don’t think the idea of building a prison next to a place that you bring your family is the best idea. I think it’d be much better if you sat down and solved the problems.”

MAGA Opposition

DeSantis has also alienated many of Trump’s loyal supporters due to his widely-expected bid to challenge the former GOP president for the 2024 nomination. Some within the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement speak positively of DeSantis, but urge him not to challenge Trump. Others, are openly hostile towards him and his potential presidential ambitions.

“Ron DeSantis is destroying his political career before our eyes through one ill-advised decision after another,” Steve Bannon, a former Trump administration official who hosts the popular right-wing WarRoom podcast, posted to Gettr on Saturday.

Similarly, failed Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who has become a leading activist within the MAGA movement, urged DeSantis not to challenge Trump. “I think DeSantis’ political career is in trouble if he doesn’t get smart,” Lake told Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani on his Saturday radio show.

While Lake praised DeSantis as an “effective” governor, she criticized the optics of him “plotting and planning” his next political move so shortly after being reelected.

“People are like, ‘We just voted you in, we were hoping you were going to stay a while.’ Then they find out he is going to run against the most popular president in Donald Trump. I think if DeSantis was to back out now it would be really smart for him to do that,” Lake added, suggesting he could wait until 2028.

‘Never Trump’ Republicans Unimpressed

Meanwhile, anti-Trump Republicans also appear largely opposed to DeSantis. Former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Michael Steele, who consistently opposed Trump since his 2016 campaign, has repeatedly criticized the Florida governor in recent weeks.

“People realize that he’s got a glass jaw, he’s got thin skin,” Steele said during an MSNBC segment last Sunday. “He’s petulant, he’s pouty, he whines a lot, and they don’t like it. That’s not strength. They want a guy who wants to fight. When you lose a battle against Mickey Mouse, it’s kind of hard to take you seriously, right?” he added, referring to the Disney feud.

Some GOP Support

DeSantis does, of course, have his Republican supporters as well.

Ken Cuccinelli, who held several different roles in the Trump administration, is fully backing DeSantis. He started the Never Back Down super PAC, which aims to support DeSantis’ 2024 presidential bid. Cuccinelli also believes that the Florida governor would give the GOP a unique advantage if he were to win the White House.

As Cuccinelli pointed out to the Tampa Bay Times for an article published on Friday, DeSantis could go on to serve eight-years if he were to win in 2024. Trump would only be able to serve four years, as he previously served one full term.

“It’s definitely on the radar for every single one of them,” Cuccinelli said, referring to GOP donors. “I haven’t talked to anyone for whom that doesn’t make a very substantial difference.”

He added that he knew firsthand how difficult it is to set-up a functioning administration. With eight years instead of just four, Republicans would have more time and ability to get things done, the former Trump administration official said.

What the Polls Show

Recent polling suggests that DeSantis is losing support among Republicans, however. News and polling analysis site FiveThirtyEight’s latest average of national 2024 GOP primary polls has DeSantis hovering just below 24 percent, whereas Trump is just above 51 percent. Comparatively, in late March DeSantis’ support stood at about 30 percent and Trump’s was at about 46 percent.

A recent survey by Emerson College showed DeSantis with just 16 percent support among Republicans, compared to Trump’s 62 percent—a lead of 46 points for the former president. Fox News polling from April has DeSantis trailing Trump by 32 points. The Florida governor was at just 21 percent and the former president was supported by 53 percent.

For his part, DeSantis has attempted to show that he’s unfazed by the dip in popularity. On Monday, the Florida governor dismissed a reporter’s question about his apparent drop in the polls. “I’m not a candidate, so we’ll see if and when that changes,” he responded.

Newsweek reached out to DeSantis’ press representatives via email for comment. This article will be updated if and when they respond.