<!-- wp:html --><p>Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero / The Daily Beast / Getty</p>
<p>I’m going to take a wild guess and say that Gov. <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/ron-desantis-knows-surviving-in-the-gop-means-never-playing-nice">Ron DeSantis</a> (R-FL) doesn’t adhere to Sun Tzu’s maxim that “every battle is won or lost before it’s ever fought.” That is based on the news that <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/ron-desantis-anti-free-speech-crusade-would-cancel-fox-news">DeSantis</a> will officially <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ron-desantis-to-launch-2024-presidential-campaign-next-week-sources-florida-governor/">announce his presidential candidacy this week</a>.</p>
<p>I get that DeSantis probably has to run to save face—after all, his SuperPAC is literally titled, “<a href="https://neverbackdown.org/">Never Back Down</a>.” But to be honest, it already <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/right-now-ron-desantis-lacks-the-killer-spirit-to-vanquish-trump">feels like a fool’s errand.</a></p>
<p>I’m not the first writer to say so. Back on April 14, <em>Washington Monthly</em>’s Bill Scher argued that <a href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2023/04/14/why-desantis-should-take-a-pass-on-the-2024-presidential-election/">DeSantis should take a pass</a> on the 2024 presidential election. I was skeptical, based on the premise that in presidential politics, you’ve got to strike while the iron is hot.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/free-advice-for-ron-desantis-dont-run-for-president">Read more at The Daily Beast.</a></p><!-- /wp:html -->
Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero / The Daily Beast / Getty
I’m going to take a wild guess and say that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) doesn’t adhere to Sun Tzu’s maxim that “every battle is won or lost before it’s ever fought.” That is based on the news that DeSantis will officially announce his presidential candidacy this week.
I get that DeSantis probably has to run to save face—after all, his SuperPAC is literally titled, “Never Back Down.” But to be honest, it already feels like a fool’s errand.
I’m not the first writer to say so. Back on April 14, Washington Monthly’s Bill Scher argued that DeSantis should take a pass on the 2024 presidential election. I was skeptical, based on the premise that in presidential politics, you’ve got to strike while the iron is hot.
