One matter uniting Trump and DeSantis but dividing the party

Emily Jacobs

March 10, 08:54 AM March 10, 08:54 AM

Leading establishment Republicans have begun taking aim at Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) as a partywide fight emerges over who is the best alternative 2024 candidate to former President Donald Trump.

DeSantis, the only GOP name that comes anywhere close to the former president in primary polls, has largely avoided scrutiny from fellow Republicans since emerging as the leading Trump alternative. However, as his star grows with the party's right flank, the Florida governor is taking heat from top establishment 2024 hopefuls for his position on a top foreign policy matter: the war in Ukraine.

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Speaking to Politico at a private donor retreat organized by Karl Rove and the Texas Voter Engagement Project in Austin, Texas, late last month, former Vice President Mike Pence, Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH), and former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) painted DeSantis as the wrong man to rescue the party from Trump.

“The Bible says if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will know to get ready for battle,” Pence told the outlet of DeSantis's Ukraine posture. “To me, it’s a function of leadership.”

"We’ve got to speak plainly to the American people about the threats that we face,” the former vice president said while calling for “strong American leadership on the world stage.”

Explaining how he had "no illusions about [Russian President Vladimir] Putin," Pence added, “Russia is on the move, when authoritarian regimes like China are threatening their neighbors, we need to meet that moment with American strength.”

Christie, who made a career off his rhetorical candidness, told donors while speaking at the conference to "stop whispering" about their unease with Trump and warned that the safer course was not to "just nominate Trump Lite."

“If we continue down this road, it’s a road that will lead us to another four years of Joe Biden,” Christie said, making reference to Trump’s prediction that his win would cause Republicans to grow tired of winning while lamenting the party's “losing and losing and losing and losing.”

Taking aim at DeSantis specifically, Christie called the Florida governor's recent comments about sliding into a proxy war with China "one of the most naive things I’ve ever heard in my life," as the United States is already locked in such a conflict.

"Don’t be fooled by false choices” being pushed by “a fellow governor,” Christie added while lamenting DeSantis's argument that Biden is too focused on Ukraine at the expense of the U.S.-Mexico border, prompting the former New Jersey governor to wonder how "they teach foreign policy in Tallahassee."

“I’m absolutely shocked when I hear Republicans talk about not defending Ukraine and not ensuring America is strong across the planet,” Sununu told the outlet after his own address to donors.

Mentioning DeSantis by name before backtracking, Sununu said, "Stop trying to have it, not just to Ron, but to anybody: You can’t have it both ways.”

Sununu went on to bemoan Republicans “who want to outdo the Democrats at their own game of big government solutions” and said, “You have to be willing to have the fight, but you can’t only be about the fight.”