Newsweek senior editor-at-large Josh Hammer has become the latest Ron DeSantis backer to warn the Florida Governor that “it is time to face reality” and drop out of the GOP race before “multiple distant third-place finishes” cause irreparable damage to his standing in the Sunshine State.
An early and dogged supporter of DeSantis, Hammer recognizes “there is no viable path to victory” for the Governor after suffering “a 30-point blowout in Iowa after betting it all on a highly touted grassroots mobilization effort” — led by the now-fired Jeff Roe.
“There is no shame in losing a primary to a former president who remains highly popular within his party,” Hammer wrote – before warning, “there is also no dignity in needlessly prolonging the inevitable” for DeSantis.
“It is time for Ron to come home. Doing so swiftly is not merely in the best interest of the Republican Party… it is also in the best interest of Ron DeSantis himself,” Hammer continued, emphasizing that the Governor’s bruising contest with Trump has “already weakened [his] standing” in his home state when he might otherwise lead a “dynamic legislative session” this year.
Hammer went on to compare DeSantis to “a washed-up ex-all-star” baseball player in danger of “hang[ing] up the spikes too late,” but suggested he “may yet be president one day” if he moves to course correct quickly.
He also stressed the importance of seeing Nimarata ‘Nikki’ Haley and her “brand of uninspiring, corporatist Republicanism” decisively crushed in the primary, not least because “the leading second choice pick for those who would ideally like DeSantis, this columnist very much included, is not Haley — it is Trump.”
DeSantis also lost the support of spokesman Steve Cortes this month. Cortes said he was “wrong” to turn away from Trump in the first place.
