Inside the collapse of the Trump-DeSantis 'alliance of convenience'

[Zorro]

Behind an apparent close alliance, the two Republicans have racked up years of mutual suspicions fueling a 2024 grudge match

Backstage at a House Republican fundraiser in September 2018, President Donald Trump heard an urgent plea from his reelection campaign manager, Brad Parscale: They needed to talk about Ron DeSantis.

At the urging of DeSantis’s team, Parscale begged Trump to set aside a public tiff, according to people familiar with the conversation. DeSantis had infuriated Trump by contradicting his groundless claim that month that Democrats were inflating the death toll from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Trump viewed the remark as a betrayal since his endorsement had just helped DeSantis win the Republican primary for governor of Florida.

Parscale argued that if DeSantis lost his race that fall, it would make it harder for Trump to win the state in 2020. It’s not just for him, Parscale told Trump, it’s for you.

Trump agreed, and their tension stayed below the surface — until this past fall, in anticipation of the Florida governor preparing to challenge Trump for the 2024 presidential nomination.

Now, their emerging rivalry is the latest twist on a years-long public alliance that belied private misgivings and suspicions, according to interviews with more than a dozen people, many of whom were present for key decisions and conversations, and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private interactions. Despite basking in each other’s reflected glow, Trump and DeSantis had a relationship based on mutual advantage rather than genuine closeness — “an alliance of convenience,” in the words of one person who knows both men.

https://wapo.st/3IbzleH

This is a grudge match I'm looking forward to witnessing.

[ificandream]

1. I think they're playing it like a wrestling match ... it's all phony ...

At the end of the day, should one beat the other, they'll kiss and make up. But even now, I think they're playing this for the media and for us. I don't think they really have any big grudge against each other. In fact, they may be laughing behind everyone's backs.

[Zorro]

2. I don't think so

From my observation (and I'm sure I'm not alone) Trump demands to be considered the alpha male in every situation, and won't be happy to have DeSantis assume that role in the Republicant party.

[ificandream]

3. You may be right, but ..

the fact that Trump says he's backed down from calling him "Meatball Ron" (which because of all the press this has gotten he actually has) is another instance of Trump playing the media and us. I still hold that this is all a sham from Humpty Trumpty. He'll add some twists and turns to get media attention and in the end, like I said earlier, I think he'll kiss and make up with Meatball Ron.

[GenThePerservering]

5. With anyone else I'd say yeah, theatre

But Trump has no coherence.

[ancianita]

4. Glad that media finally stated the 'convenience' part. Miami-Tampa papers will endorse neither.

Thanks for the read.

The alliance part is the re-aligning of big donors. Schwartzman & Griffin & others have backed off from Trump; Koch's now coming in to parry with Trump, then use his wealth to knock him out in the primaries.

Koch's donors are using DeSantis to convince Americans that
a) Democrats are losers in the culture wars,
b) what DeSantis and Koch's MTG Freedom Caucus stand for are in alignment,
c) Republicans deserve more responsible government than that of spendthrift Democrats.

I hate the ugliness of primaries, and wish people weren't so conditioned to fact free, negative, conflict driven headlines. The main reasons rethugs will keep their rally base through Trump is to keep up two big lies about demon democrats and corrupt FBI against 'normal' Americans, along with grandiose promises of pardons and revenge.
But rw media will likely trim back the lies to only those it can get away with, depending on primary polls & wins.

I'll be ignoring primaries this year; I consider them worse than gazing at a train wreck; they're soul rotting.