Unlike Democrats, who are now panicking that Biden will head the ticket in 2024, Republicans have an embarrassment of riches, ranging from RINOs to the big MAGA kahuna—that is, Trump himself—along with everyone in between. Currently, the most closely watched are Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis.

I was listening to Michael Knowles the other day, and he made a very interesting point. Trump is Trump. He’s a known quantity but, this time, he’s coming back loaded for bear. Meanwhile, others have carved out their own lanes: Chris Christie is the ultimate Never-Trumper, Asa Hutchinson is the Reagan Republican, Tim Scott is the genuine American black (unlike Barack Obama), Nikki Haley is the woman, etc. The only ones who can’t carve out their own lanes are Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis because each is taking Trump’s virtues and claiming, essentially, “I’ll do it better.”

Currently, Trump dominates the scene, partly because he’s got the built-in MAGA base, partly because he’s a known quantity, and partly because people understand that, if the Democrats can get away with using the criminal justice system to destroy him, America’s constitutional experiment is over. He’s also dominating, I think, because the two most interesting opponents are having a very hard time carving out their lanes.

Let’s start with Vivek Ramaswamy, whom I really like, although I don’t see a path to his victory. Ramaswamy is young, articulate, and unafraid to voice genuinely American thoughts about almost all issues. For an Ivy-league-educated man of Southeast Asian heritage who made a mint as a technogeek, he thinks and speaks like someone with deep roots in the heartland.

Image: DeSantis ad. Twitter screen grab.

Vivek’s campaign problem is that, with his outsider status and his willingness to speak the truth without political hedging, he’s essentially Donald Trump 2016 all over again, only more disciplined and articulate. And when I say “problem,” I don’t mean that any of the things he brings to the table are bad; I just mean it’s difficult for him to distinguish himself from Trump. Saying you’re Trump 2.0 is difficult when Trump 1.0 is your opponent.

Ron DeSantis has the same problem. He and Trump have pretty much identical policies. The only thing that Ron DeSantis can offer is that he’ll succeed where Trump failed: He’s an experienced politician and a disciplined man. He’ll hire better people, run a righter ship, manage Congress more effectively, and keep his eye on the ball rather than getting derailed by pointless personal battles.

I think that’s a good sales pitch, but Trump supporters see that “experienced politician” part, which includes a bunch of NeverTrumpers lining up behind him as the best way to destroy Trump, as proof that DeSantis is a fake. They’re convinced that, once he gets into office, he’ll simply be Jeb! Or Dubya! Or Romney! Yech.

To combat that impression and wean Trump supporters off Trump and over to his side, Ron DeSantis’s team has put together an interesting campaign video. In it, various rabid leftist talking heads say that DeSantis really is Trump, only much better. He’s more vicious, they say, more disciplined, and more experienced:

Wondering which Republican the Left fears most of all? Watch this. pic.twitter.com/WiVu7KrqEj

— DeSantis War Room рџђЉ (@DeSantisWarRoom) July 2, 2023

The ad is a clever way for DeSantis to position himself as Trump (all the same great ideas), only better. However, it’s also rather dangerous, it seems to me, to have your ideological opponents, people you think are wrong about everything, stand as your strongest referrals.

All I know is that I’d love to see Trump, DeSantis, and Vivek on the debate stage in front of an honest moderator. And who knows, some among the others (Haley, Christie, Scott, etc.) might surprise me.