Ron DeSantis steps onto the national stage – and avoids direct contact with Trump

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SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE February 27, 2023 View in browser Ron DeSantis goes national – and avoids direct contact with Trump Conservatives will descend on the National Harbor this week for the Conservative Political Action Conference, better known by its initials: CPAC.   The gathering of Republicans serves as part sideshow, part game plan for the GOP, part spring break for local college Republican chapters across the country and part cattle call for presidential candidates. Indeed, former president Donald Trump made his official coming out as a viable conservative figure at the 2011 CPAC (with a little-known conservative gadfly from Texas named Ted Cruz serving as a warm-up act). The former president will be on hand to speak to activists, as well former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, herself a 2024 contender. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a rumoured presidential candidate, will deliver the keynote address.   But one person will be conspicuously absent from the gathering: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Mr Trump's most formidable potential challenger. That marks a change, given that the last two CPACs took place in Florida during the Covid-19 pandemic, largely because Mr DeSantis only briefly closed down the Sunshine State and has since opposed mask mandates, vaccine requirements and occasionally played footsies with anti-vaccine rhetoric.   He became an even bigger hero the right for his signing of Florida's so-called "Don't Say Gay" legislation that limited how teachers could talk about LGBT+ people to students. The debate over the legislation led him to pick a fight with Disney. All of these factors helped lead Mr DeSantis to a double-digit victory in Florida and set him up to be the next big thing in GOP politics. But Mr DeSantis is skipping the CPAC festivities and will instead make the rounds promoting his new book, which is itself often an on-ramp to a White House run and one that will give him plenty of free media. In an interview with Fox's Mark Levin, Mr DeSantis tried, somewhat dubiously, to play up his "Rust Belt" roots since his father is from Western Pennsylvania and his mother is from Ohio. Skipping CPAC also allows Mr DeSantis to stick out from the pack.   For the most part, Mr DeSantis has avoided taking on the former president directly. When Mr Trump launched a particularly nasty attack on the governor, Mr DeSantis responded by saying he didn't spend his time "trying to smear other Republicans," without specifically naming the former president.   Meanwhile, Mr Trump has relentlessly attacked Mr DeSantis, the man he's dubbed "Ron DeSanctimonious" and whom The New York Times reported he calls "Meatball Ron." For his part, though, Mr DeSantis has refrained from criticism of the former president. The governor's new book even compares Mr Trump to – who else? – Ronald Reagan.  Reading list John Bowden: Trump attorneys say they won't accept 'faulty' indictments in Georgia 2020 election probe Josh Marcus: Dilbert creator Scott Adams says publisher 'canceled' upcoming book after racism scandal Enjoying this newsletter? Unlock unlimited, ad-free reading on the website and in The Independent app when you subscribe – plus, benefit from our welcome offer when you join today. What else you need to know today The White House on Monday welcomed the announcement of an agreement between the UK and European Union to govern the flow of goods between Northern Ireland and Great Britain while avoiding breaching the Good Friday Agreement by reestablishing a hard land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the Biden administration is "grateful that the two sides were able to come up with this Windsor framework ... in keeping with the Northern Ireland protocols" when asked about the deal at the White House daily press briefing. "We believe that this will help improve the prosperity of both the EU and the UK, and will open up all kinds of now avenues for trade that were somewhat at risk," he said. Mr Kirby, however, demurred when pressed on whether the advent of the UK-EU agreement would improve the prospects of a post-Brexit bilateral trade deal between the UK and the United States, telling reporters that he was "not gonna get ahead of where we are right now". The new agreement, which was unveiled on Monday by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, will allow EU exports bound specifically for Northern Ireland — which under post-Brexit terms has remained part of the EU's single market — to be handled separately from exports destined for the island of Great Britain. It eliminates the possibility of a hard border with customs checks being imposed between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which remains part of the EU. More than three-quarters of voters in New York's 3rd District want their member of Congress, George Santos, to resign, according to a new poll. The survey found that 78 per cent of registered voters – including 89 per cent of Democrats, 72 per cent of independents and 71 per cent of Republicans – all want Mr Santos to resign. Mr Santos has come under intense scrutiny for fabricating major parts of his personal narrative, including where he went to college; that he worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup; his family's ancestry and a charity that he ran. We noticed that you might not be registered By registering, you will enjoy limited access to Independent Premium articles, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists REGISTER FOR FREE Articles available exclusively to subscribers Marina Dias and Amanda Coletta, The Independent: The race to restore the art ruined in Brazil's riot OTHER NEWSLETTERS YOU MIGHT LIKE The Race Report Fortnightly, 6pm (UK time) Written by Nadine White Join now Health Check Every Thursday, 7am (UK time) Written by Rebecca Thomas Join now If you can spare a minute we'd love your feedback on our newsletters. 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