Trump lately has been attacking DeSantis.  For example, Trump called DeSantis an "average REPUBLICAN Governor with great Public Relations."  He suggested that another potential opponent, Glenn Youngkin, governor of Virginia, had a name that sounded Chinese: "Young Kin."  The country club wing of the Republican Party are urging Trump to gracefully retire.  They are repelled by a strong man who sometimes speaks coarsely.  They don't much care that Trump revolutionized the base of the party to include blue-collar and minority voters, essentially giving the party a new lease on life and real hope of defeating the Marxist party.  They don't care that Trump is being persecuted illegally and mercilessly by the Biden administration.  They desperately want a gentleman as the nominee — someone who would lose gracefully.

The country-clubbers claim that an intraparty fight will damage the eventual nominee's prospects in the 2024 election.  Kamala Harris questioned Biden's racial and sexual bona fides during the campaign but was later chosen for V.P.  Trump would have no problem selecting either DeSantis or Youngkin for V.P., no matter how rough the fight in the primary was.  It would all be forgotten.  If DeSantis or Youngkin or one of the others defeats Trump, he will be undefeatable in the general election.

The real issue is media coverage.  The mainstream media would completely ignore a gentlemanly Republican primary.  If sparks are flying, they won't be able to resist the lure of ratings and clicks.  The Republican message would get out.  Trump's behavior is not because he is a helpless narcissist, but because he is the political genius of the century.

Image: Metropolitan Museum of Art.